The Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce is thrilled to recognize Commencement Bank as the Auburn Area CONNECT February 2020 "Business of the Month."
Earlier this year, Commencement Bank opened the doors of their brand new branch, located at 220 15th Street NE, in Auburn, a beautiful, welcoming space and exciting addition to the Auburn business community. The branch management and staff invite members of the community to join them at their new location on Friday, March 6th, from 3 to 5 pm, for a ribbon cutting and grand opening celebration with catered hors d'oeuvres, prizes and networking. (CLICK HERE for more information.)
Each month, the Auburn Area Chamber recognizes an extraordinary member business in the Auburn Area that employs local professionals, provides a consistent and superior customer experience, and remains actively engaged in the Auburn Area community, all while delivering exceptional products and services.
This month, we are proud to recognize Commencement Bank as our February 2020 Business of the Month.
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The team at Commencement Bank recently spoke with Chamber staff, sharing more about the new bank branch in Auburn, their services, special offers and plans for the future. Read more in our interview below.
Auburn Area CONNECT (AAC): Tell us more about Commencement Bank, your local branch and anything chamber members might want to know about your company.
Commencement Bank (CB): Commencement Bank was formed in 2006 by a team of bankers who live in the South Puget Sound that believe in the power of
community banking and the positive impact it has on our local economies. At Commencement Bank, customer service is at the center of everything we do; we go above and beyond traditional service methods to provide a unique and valuable experience for our customers while supporting the organizations in our communities that help our residents. Our new Auburn Branch was established to provide South King County's businesses and residents with access to experienced bankers, local funding, specialized customer service, and a variety of products designed specifically for this market.
AAC: What range of services do you offer to the community?
CB: We provide businesses and individuals with a range of financial products and services. For businesses, we offer lines of credit, commercial real estate loans, government guaranteed loans, term loans, credit cards, savings accountings, including money markets and CDs, nonprofit checking, business checking with a suite of cash management tools, For personal needs, we offer home equity loans and lines of credit, car and boat loans, personal lines of credit, credit cards, savings accounts, including CDs and money markets, and several deposit accounts that feature enhancements such as cell phone insurance, emergency roadside assistances, local deals and much more!
AAC: How many people do you employ here in the Auburn Area?
CB: We employ five people at our Auburn Branch.
AAC: Why is Commencement Bank a great place to work?
CB: Commencement Bank is a great place to work because we are given many tools in order to provide our clients with exceptional service. We are encouraged to participate in our communities and are able to do what is best for our customers, not just what is the most profitable for the Bank. We promote a culture of teamwork and have several opportunities to interact with our peers. Our management team is always accessible; in fact, we recently rolled out an idea bank where employees are encouraged to submit ways to enhance internal processes to better serve our customers, employees and communities.
AAC: Besides a great job, what other type of benefits do you offer your employees?
CB: We offer our employees several benefits including full healthcare coverage, 401(k) matching, paid vacation and sick leave, and competitive pay. We also offer allowance for Bank logo wear, Jean Fridays, where employees can wear jeans for a donation to a local charity, and much more!
AAC: What do you love most about serving the Auburn Area?
CB: Auburn is a fantastic city with diverse businesses and a growing residential population. We love serving our customers here because we can offer them an alterative to larger financial institutions. Our bankers have years of experience in this market, and we can pass that knowledge on to the people and businesses we serve.
AAC: How has your business grown or expanded in the last few years?
CB: Commencement Bank had one location until 2014 when we grew to a point that we needed to expand physically to serve our growing customer base. Since then, we have opened locations in Enumclaw, Olympia and now Auburn. In addition to physical locations, we are also working to grow our service-lines and are in the process of implementing a government guaranteed lending department for small to mid-sized businesses across the Puget Sound.
AAC: In what areas will you grown and evolve over the next several years?
CB: We have big aspirations for expansion over the next several years. We are looking at ways to grow both organically and through acquisition. We also have plans to grow, improve and evolve our product offerings and technology.
AAC: How is being part of the Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce valuable to your business?
CB: The Auburn Chamber has connected us to so many of the businesses and people within the community. Being a part of this network has helped us to better understand the needs in this market and has opened doors for new opportunities. We feel a tremendous amount of support from the chamber members and look forward to continuing this relationship.
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Thank you to everyone at Commencement Bank for welcoming us to your business and for serving the business community and residents of the Auburn Area. To learn more about Commencement Bank, visit commencementbank.com.
