RBC I First National Bank of the Rockies officially became the Bank of the San Juans last week after the oldest banks in Meeker and Rangely were acquired by Montana-based Glacier Bancorp Inc.
Customers will notice few other changes at the bank, where trusted staff and a commitment to personal service will remain the same.
A division of Glacier, Durango-based Bank of the San Juans was founded in 1998 and operated as an independent community bank until 2008, when it was bought by the Montana bank holding company.
“We are a true community bank with small town roots and values that are very similar to First National Bank of the Rockies,” said Bank of the San Juans founder and president Art Chase. “You’re going to get some of the benefits of dealing with a larger bank when you are a Bank of the San Juans customer, but you’re still going to get the true benefit of a bank that genuinely values customer service above all else.”
Bank of the San Juans offers local businesses more resources to grow with higher lending limits than FNBR, and home mortgage lending also will soon expand.
Business and personal checking accounts are free, and customers will have more online and mobile banking services, including the ability to make deposits by smart phone.
Although part of a larger network, Bank of the San Juans allows local managers to make decisions based on what’s best for their communities, not a corporate mandate. And the bank will continue to play a leading role in the community through civic involvement and charitable giving, just as First National Bank of the Rockies has done for more than 100 years.
“We have tremendous respect for the rich legacy of First National Bank of the Rockies and Meeker’s unique role as the place where it all began,” Chase said. “We’re proud to carry on the bank’s tradition of always putting our customers and communities first — a tradition that has allowed this bank to survive and prosper for more than a century and will for many more years to come.”
Bank of the San Juans was founded in 1998 and has grown to include 13 branches in communities along more than 350 miles of the Western Slope of Colorado from Durango to Steamboat Springs.
Bank of the San Juans has total assets of $550 million.