Mountain Pacific starts strong

By Kimberly Hilden
SCBJ Assistant Editor

Mountain Pacific Bank may be just a few months old, but its lending ability is comparable to that of a bank 10 years older, said Mark Duffy, president and chief executive of the Everett-based financial institution.

The $16.5 million the bank raised through its initial stock offering “allowed us to offer bigger loans off the bat,” said Duffy, whose bank opened in July in the Everett Gateway Center, just off the I-5 exit at Broadway.

Mountain Pacific Bank Address: 3732 Broadway, Everett, WA 98201 Phone: 425-263-3500 Web site: www.mountainpacificbank.com

“We’ve done over $19 million in loans, and I didn’t think we’d accomplish that until the fourth quarter. We have $29 million in total assets, (putting us) six to nine months ahead of where we expected we’d be,” he said in late October.

Duffy credits his lending team, which includes Graham Haight, executive vice president and chief lending officer; Dave Turner, vice president and commercial lender; and Mike Tsoukalas, vice president and commercial loan officer, for the quick start.

The bank’s location, with its easy interstate access and daily visibility to thousands of commuters, also has helped, said Haight, a former president of The Bank of Washington.

Clients come from all around, and the ability “to pop on and off I-5” has been very beneficial, he said, adding that the Everett Gateway Center is filling up with tenants, including Cascade Rehabilitation Associates, HealthForce Occupational Medicine and an IHOP restaurant, which will enhance foot traffic.

To further fuel its lending capacity and develop a full array of services, the bank is focused on growing its deposits, having recently established a debit-card system through Visa as well as having created an Internet presence for itself.

Plans for the bank’s Web site, www.mountainpacificbank.com, call for online banking and bill-pay features for consumers and business clients, who will be able to make use of online cash management services as well, Duffy said.

Other banking features include no ATM fees, with Mountain Pacific paying fees incurred on nonbank ATMs. The bank also has set up a variety of personal checking accounts, from basic Free Checking to Patron Checking, with interest accrued from the account paid to a charity of the customer’s choice, Duffy said.

The idea for Patron Checking, while unique, is not new, he said, noting that he heard about Oregon-based Umpqua Bank’s Community Interest Checking program while he was president at Coastal Community Bank.

“I thought it was a great idea,” Duffy said, adding that he plans to partner with nonprofit organizations to build the program.

As for competing in Snohomish County, both Duffy and Haight are relying on their knowledge of the local market, the team they have put together and the ongoing support and leadership of the bank’s board.

In the past six months, two other banks — the Bank of Everett and UniBank — have established themselves in the county, which already has more than two dozen financial institutions in operation, including locally based and publicly traded Cascade Financial Corp, Frontier Financial Corp. and CityBank.

“I think people bank with bankers, not with banks,” Haight said, noting that his experience with commercial real estate and construction lending complements Duffy’s expertise in commercial and industrial lending.

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