Banking on It - December 2005

Bank of North Las Vegas

New Bank for a Growing City

by Robyn Campbell-Ouchida

It’s about time North Las Vegas got a bank of its own. With a population of over 150,000 residents and with many businesses relocating to the area, a bank was becoming a necessity. Other banks operated branches within the city limits, but none of these were actually chartered in North Las Vegas.

"I started thinking about developing a bank for North Las Vegas about a year and a half ago," said Bank of North Las Vegas President and CEO James York. "I grew up in this community and am still a resident, and I saw the need for such a community institution. And the fact that North Las Vegas is very business-friendly was a definite selling point.

Many times, communities wait for large, national banks to pave the way – we didn’t want to wait," commented York. "We wanted to start our own bank, using a new business model for a community bank."

Whereas most banks focus on either residential or commercial business, the Bank of North Las Vegas has made it a point to treat both sets of consumers with equal importance. The bank opened on August 1, 2005 and by the beginning of October, it had established approximately 50 accounts totaling $3 million in deposits.

The founders of the Bank of North Las Vegas were aware that there are always challenges to finding funding. "There are so many places where people can put their money right now – real estate, the stock market and others," said York. "But we knew this would be a good opportunity for the North Las Vegas market. We had a good group of founding partners and an excellent business plan. We believed it was a very viable concept."

York, who grew up in North Las Vegas and graduated from Rancho High School and the University of Nevada Las Vegas, began the process of building the bank, which would take 16 months to complete. With a job history that includes holding the chief credit officer title at Southwest USA Bank and various positions at Silver State Bank, First Interstate Bank and Bank of America, York is quite familiar with the industry.

"I came up through the ranks, starting as a teller," said York. "Having held these different positions in a number of financial companies gave me the background and experience to know what really sets a bank apart from its competition. By giving residential and commercial accounts equal importance, our customers are very satisfied."

Along with York, the staff at Bank of North Las Vegas includes such veteran Southern Nevada bankers as: Jay Blood, executive vice president/chief credit officer; Scott Johnson, executive vice president/chief financial officer; Ron York, senior vice president/retail banking manager; and Paul Dreschler, senior vice president/commercial loan officer.

The Bank of North Las Vegas offers the same amenities and services as the larger, national banks, but with a more personal feel, said York. From free checking to debit cards with free ATM usage, the bank offers competitive rates for consumer products.

"North Las Vegas is really growing. We’re going through what Henderson went through about 15 years ago with the advent of Green Valley," said York. "When our permanent building is complete, the bank will be located at the gateway to Aliante, a master-planned community that is expected to eventually have about 20,000 residents and 7,500 homes. With the growth Aliante has brought, we anticipate being able to open a second location around our third year in business."