County Bank, a California community bank whose parent has $1.3 billion of assets, says it has started a wealth management division and opened an office in Fresno to offer one-on-one service to millionaires.
The bank has made this move in a community that is faster-growing, in population terms, than the state and somewhat younger but also poorer in terms of median household income. It said demand from business and retail customers prompted the move into a market it believes has been underserved. It also says it is exploring expansion of its wealth management business into other California counties.
The Merced-based bank decided to open the office in Fresno because it is the economic hub for a population of more than 500,000 in the state's Central Valley, said Robert Jette, who was hired from Comerica Bank's Northern California region to lead the wealth management services division.
County Bank, a subsidiary of Capital Corp. of the West, has a five-year expansion plan, Mr. Jette said, and is interested in opening wealth management offices in Stockton, Merced, and Modesto. "It may be a little premature, but we do have a plan to expand in the next five years," he said. "We are visiting several locations south of Sacramento."
As for the Fresno move, Mr. Jette said it makes County the only community bank to offer wealth management services in the city. "Wells Fargo is a larger competitor," he said, "but we're the only community bank in the area. We have no competition on that scale."
The move into Fresno was a natural progression, said Mr. Jette, explaining that Capital Corp. is making a substantial push into Fresno with two additional branches. By Aug. 31 it will have four full-service branches in Fresno, he said, and expects to have seven within two years.
"We also believe that this is a market area being neglected," Mr. Jette said.
Regarding sales goals, Mr. Jette said County Bank hopes to reach volume of $10 million to $15 million by the end of 2005 and up to $40 million by the end of 2006.
Fresno County, whose population was estimated at 850,325 in 2003 by the Census Bureau, grew faster than the state as a whole during the 1990s, up nearly 20% in the 2000 census, compared with 13.6% for the state. Its residents are somewhat younger, with 9.9% of the population older than 65 in 2000, compared with 10.6% of the state's, and 32.1% younger than 18, compared with 27.3%.
However, the county lags the state in measures of educational attainment, household income, and median value of owner-occupied housing. Its population includes 67.5% who are high school graduates older than 25 and 17.5% in the same age cohort who have a bachelor's degree or more. The median value of owner-occupied housing units was $104,900, compared with $211,500 for the state. And the median household income in 1999 was $34,725, compared with $47,493.
County Bank plans to use a fee-based management system, Mr. Jette said, and will offer retail and institutional clients institutional funds, stocks, bonds, and real estate investment trusts on a Lehman Brothers investment platform. The bank's investment sales business, which was started four years ago, also offers fixed and variable annuities.
The wealth division's target customer will have more than $500,000 of investable assets, said Mr. Jette, but he intends to work mainly with those having $1 million to $10 million to invest. The bank anticipates a lot of real estate business. "A good deal of wealth in the Valley is real estate wealth, whether it's commercial, farms, or residential," he said.
"Cross-selling is something to explore," Mr. Jette said, "as we're always looking to keep our clients happy." "We will spend one-on-one time with each client to determine their specific needs."
