Hollister
– A new bank is coming to Hollister.
Hollister – A new bank is coming to Hollister.
Pacific Valley Bank plans to open the doors of its Hollister branch on Feb. 5. According to several local businesspeople, Pacific Valley will be the first new bank in town since Community Bank came to Hollister in 2000.
Branch manager Sandi Slonaker said Salinas-based Pacific Valley will be the only community bank in the area – namely, the only bank that’s locally owned and whose decisions are made on a local basis.
“It’s just not that corporate,” said Slonaker, who has been a Hollister resident since 1993.
Slonaker noted, for example, that Community Bank is now owned by the Dutch company Rabobank, and that San Benito Bank is actually owned by Pacific Capital Bancorp.
Jeff Pyle, the city’s economic development manager, believes Hollister’s economy has room to grow in the legal and financial sectors. Pyle said he doesn’t know much about the company, but he recalled working in other towns where banks were constantly closing or leaving.
“Having a new bank is a good sign,” Pyle said. “It means they’re expecting prosperity.”
Pacific Valley Bank first opened its doors in 2004; it has two offices in Salinas and one in King City. The Hollister branch will be located on Tres Pinos Road, next to the First American Title Company. While work on the permanent location continues – which Slonaker guessed would take another few months – the branch will be limited to a small office without an automated teller machine.
Like Slonaker, Pacific Valley President Ben Tinkey has ties to the Hollister community – he lived here for five years before moving to King City last fall. He said a number of the bank’s shareholders live in Hollister as well.
Tinkey described the bank as a “high touch, high feel” operation.
“Many of my customers have my home phone number,” he said.
Tinkey acknowledged that Pacific Valley risks losing that personal touch as it expands, but, he said, “We’re many years from being that large.”
Will Sutton, senior vice president at San Benito Bank, said he welcomes competition, which he believes will “make us all keep our pencils a little sharper.”
“There’s plenty of business – more than one bank can handle,” he said.
Sutton, who sits on the boards of a number of local nonprofits, also said he hopes that someone from Pacific Valley will join him.
“I hope they do their homework and look at the community’s needs,” he said.
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or ah*@fr***********.com.
