Bankers bet on Carson City

Business Bank of Nevada is betting on Carson City with a new 5,000-square-foot building.

But the wager is a good one if the bank's first foray out of the Las Vegas Valley is any indication.

After a year in business in a storefront, the bank attracted $37 million in deposits, prompting construction of the new building.

Regional manager Jerry Gregory has lived in Western Nevada most of his life and has been a banker since 1957. For all the growth in the state, he said, it is still a small state.

"Nevadans still want to bank with people and not brick and mortar," he said.

Before working for Business Bank, Gregory worked for Sierra West Bank, which was purchased by Bank of the West and Bank of America after it purchased Valley Bank.

"When I fly down to Las Vegas, I always see a couple of people I know on the plane," he said.

Chief Executive Officer John Guedry said commercial banks should maintain strong local ties.

"The business people who work with a commercial bank want to know who they are dealing with," he said. "Banks are still a people-to-people business."

While prepared for consumer banking, most of the bank's customers are businesses.

Guedry said the level of competition for banks in Carson City approaches that of Las Vegas.

He said that there are 19 different companies offering banking services in the city, and 24 banks in Las Vegas.

The Las Vegas-based bank has been in business since 1995. Bank officials changed the name in January 1999 when they decided to expand. The Carson City branch opened Dec. 13, 1999, with Gregory serving as regional manager.

Senior Vice President Paul C. Stowell said the bank was also looking forward to the opening of the Carson City freeway.

The new bank will open Jan. 8 with a grand opening ceremony set for Feb. 6.

The new branch is at 1811 E. College Parkway. The new office features a walk-up automatic teller machine and a drive-up teller window.

Inside, the split-face block and stucco architectural bank has six teller windows and 143 safe deposit boxes.

For more, the bank's Web site is located at www.bbnv.com.

Guedry said the branch's success for the first year nearly doubled what executives expected.

"We see some real opportunities here. It is clearly worth the investment," he said.