91.1 F
San Fernando
Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Union Bank Planning Northeast Valley Branch

Union Bank Planning Northeast Valley Branch By CARLOS MARTINEZ Staff Reporter Union Bank plans to open a branch in the Northeast Valley, bank officials said. Alicia Romero, a spokeswoman for the San Francisco-based financial institution, said bank officials were looking at locations but had not decided on one yet. Sites include one in San Fernando and others in Pacoima, but wherever the bank is located, it will be good news to the northern part of the Valley. “The communities there have few options when it comes to banking and they generally are stuck dealing with check cashers,” said Roberto E. Barragan, president of the Valley Economic Development Center in Van Nuys. “Check cashers charge exorbitant amounts to cash checks and even more for those who want to wire money back to their relatives in Mexico,” he said. With Union Bank focusing on improving its outreach to the Latino market, Romero said the bank would welcome and serve that area’s heavily Hispanic communities. “It’s an important market and an area that has been very much underserved,” Romero said. “We recognize the potential for business and empowerment in the San Fernando Valley and building on the success of our Northridge and Panorama City branches,” she added. Barragan said his organization began talking with the bank about adding a branch to the area last year after the company acquired Simi Valley-based First Western Bank and Santa Clarita-based Valencia Bank & Trust. “We felt they would be interested in expanding into the northeast Valley,” he said. The new branch is scheduled to open by early 2004, with a staff of about 8 people, providing traditional checking, savings and loan services along with business banking and investment services. Once operational, the new branch would be one of five new branches Union Bank plans to open next year in the Los Angeles area, Romero said. The bank is a unit of UnionBanCal Corp. which operates 262 banking offices and branches in California, with 6 offices in Oregon and Washington and 18 others in foreign countries. The bank has assets of $40.4 billion and is the third largest commercial bank in California.

Featured Articles

Related Articles