In October, Tacoma-based Columbia Banking System Inc. and Portland-based Umpqua Holdings Corporation announced
a plan to merge. While the surviving holding company will be Columbia Banking Systems in Tacoma, the combined bank will be Umpqua Bank based in Portland. With roughly $50 billion in assets, $43 billion in deposits and a branch network covering six states, the bank will be the largest in the Pacific Northwest and among the top three on the West Coast. The merger is expected to close mid-year.

Much has been said about the unusual structure of the merger, with the smaller Columbia Banking System serving as the official acquirer; but for the leaders of these two institutions, the deal is a true partnership of equals, combining complimentary cultures and business models.

OBA President and CEO Linda Navarro sat down with Columbia Bank President and CEO Client Stein, who will retain that title in the combined company, and Umpqua Bank CEO Cort O’Haver, who will become the executive chairman, to discuss their thoughts on the merger and its impact on the Pacific Northwest. 

Navarro: What are the greatest strengths of Columbia Bank that you bring to the table in a merger with Umpqua Bank?

Stein: Through the diligence process, we learned that both organizations have strengths that are additive to what the other
bank does. We are now four months into our integration planning and have continued to surface opportunities on a combined basis that enhance what either of us could do individually. We are looking forward to leveraging Columbia’s wealth management, ag banking and small business lending platforms across the combined customer base.

Navarro: What about Umpqua Bank? What are the greatest strengths you bring to the table?
 
O’Haver: Like Columbia and every successful company, our greatest assets can’t be found on a balance sheet. Our reputation for pushing the boundaries of what banking can and should be, and our commitment to investing in people and communities are terrific. The way we’ve stayed true to building deep, accessible and trusted relationships with our customers as we’ve grown significantly over the years will be as important as ever moving forward. More practically, there are aspects of our business that uniquely complement Columbia. We’ve recruited tremendous talent focused on upper-middle market banking and built a very strong portfolio of mid-size companies across our footprint. Our subsidiary Financial Pacific Leasing is a top-notch equipment lender that will have access to a broader customer base, including health care companies and firms in other dynamic industries. On the technology side, we’ve developed operational tools and customer-facing platforms, like Umpqua Go-To, that model our commitment to innovation and empowering human connection in banking and will inform the new investment opportunities in technology our combination creates.
 
Navarro: Cort has mentioned that he started seriously thinking about the cultural compatibility when the two of you connected over the distribution of the $500 one-time payments to unemployed Oregonians in 2020. I guess you made a good impression, although I’m not surprised! Seriously though, what were the factors that led you to believe Umpqua Bank was the right fit for a merger with Columbia Bank?
 
Stein: We have collaborated with Umpqua on various lending and industry issues for over 10 years. Therefore, I knew they had great people. What Cort helped me to understand was how complimentary our business models are. Moreover, strategically we were aligned in that we were looking at identical markets for expansion and aspiring to the same long-term goal of being the premier regional community banking franchise headquartered in the Northwest. We quickly discovered that our corporate values were consistent and our identified stakeholder groups were identical. Once we knew our cultures would align, it was clear to us that the merger was a fit.
 
Navarro: The structure of the deal doesn’t fit in the usual box. Could you comment to the extent possible on the overall structure of the deal? What were some of the drivers in how the merger was designed?

O’Haver: Our two banks are premier and successful financial institutions in the Northwest. We saw tremendous opportunity in the marketplace to join forces, but neither bank had any interest in selling to the other. So, we structured the deal to reflect a true partnership of equals. It’s really as simple as that. We’re combining complementary strengths, resources, people, and creating a bank that’s equal parts Umpqua and Columbia in our corporate structure, board makeup, executive leadership and organizational plan.
 
Navarro: Why do you think this will be a good deal for the customers and communities you serve?
 
Stein: In my prior comments, I mentioned the complementary nature of our business models and the additive benefit of our combined strengths. More simply, our combination provides customers with an enhanced suite of products and services that they can access in more locations or through one of our various digital channels. Today, we both serve many rural communities, and in some cases, we are competing against each other for customers and bankers in the same community. Our combination instantly improves our scale and operating leverage within each community we serve. The improved scale firmly cements our presence and ongoing commitment to the communities we serve today.
 
Navarro: Both Columbia Bank and Umpqua Bank are viewed as successful regional community banks. With the combined bank having assets over $50 billion and growth in its future, will the organization continue to view and brand itself as a community bank?
 
Stein: My roots are in community banking, and I have always believed that how you serve your markets is a better measure of being a community bank than asset size. What has made Umpqua and Columbia successful regional community banks is our people and the commitment they have to the communities where they live and work. Just like the employees at all the other banks headquartered in Oregon, our people are passionate about making their communities prosperous. The only difference is we serve more communities across a broader geography.
 
Navarro: Looking ahead, how do you envision the combined bank serving its customers and communities through technology? In other words, will digital delivery and decisioning channels be a primary focus of the bank?
 
O’Haver: Absolutely. The ability to scale investments in technology is one of the most important benefits our  
customers will experience as a result of our combination. What will differentiate the variety and breadth of tools we’ll be able to offer is the fact that both banks take a very human and relational approach to technology. By that, I mean we believe technology is not just about creating convenience, it’s also about strengthening connections between people --
customers and associates — using digital platforms and tools. The combination of access to sophisticated digital tools plus access to trusted, human expertise has always been the focus of our approach to technology, and our combined size will allow us to make significant investments that deliver for customers on both fronts.
 
Navarro: The regulatory environment for banks only gets more complicated and demanding over time. What are some of the regulatory issues that arise when a bank is over $50 billion that may not have been as prominent for a bank of Columbia’s current size?
 
Stein: It is true that with growth the regulatory environment gets more complicated. Columbia Bank has been under the large bank supervision program for many years. A couple of the biggest differences under the large bank model are that safety and soundness exams are conducted on a continuous monitoring basis, and we are subject to examination by the CFPB. We have actually found it beneficial to have ongoing, near real-time feedback from our regulators as opposed to our previous annual exam cycle.
 
Navarro: Whenever there is a bank merger, there is a lot of talk about culture compatibility. You’ve both talked about this in relation to a Columbia/Umpqua combination. What do you consider the most valuable elements of your current bank’s culture, and how do you keep them alive in a $50+ billion bank?
 
O’Haver: Our commitment to people is far and away the most valuable part of our culture because it informs every other commitment. We’re a bank that really tries to filter every decision we make by whether it strengthens our connections with associates, customers and the communities we support. That truly has been key to our success for nearly 75 years.
It’s why we’ve given our associates more than half-a-million paid volunteer hours to invest in their communities. It’s what enabled us to roll up our sleeves and pivot our entire bank to help 26,000 businesses get financial relief through the federal Paycheck Protection Program. It shapes how we think about using technology and how we structure and empower our local banking teams. Best of all, it’s one of the main reasons we’re thrilled to combine with Columbia, which has just as strong of a commitment to people as we do. Since we announced plans to combine and we’ve begun planning for integration, doing right by people shapes every decision we make.
 
Navarro: Clint, I remember when you started working for Community Bank in Joseph about 25 years ago and were a member of the OBA’s Financial Officers Committee. Do you feel like assuming the CEO role of an Oregon headquartered bank is a bit like returning home? Will you work in Oregon, Washington or both?
 
Stein: In a way, I feel like I never left Oregon. When I joined Columbia in 2005, we had a small presence on the coast that has since grown to 58 locations across Oregon. I haven’t thought about my role in our combined organization as a homecoming of sorts. My focus and excitement have been centered on what we are creating through this merger and the team I have the privilege of leading.
 
Growing up and starting my career in Oregon laid the foundation for who I am as a person. However, as the CEO of Columbia Bank, I care equally about each market we serve. So I guess the answer is both, as well as Idaho and California, and when our merger closes, Nevada and Arizona also.
 
Navarro: What will your new title of Executive Chairman mean in terms of your engagement in running the combined bank and/or holding company?
 
O’Haver: Bringing together banks of our combined size is an enormous undertaking. My primary role will be to work
closely with Clint to ensure the full and final integration of our two banks is as successful and smooth as possible for our associates and our customers.
 
Navarro: What will be the greatest benefit to Oregonians and Oregon businesses of this merger?
 
Stein: I believe the greatest benefit is that we are bringing two Northwest-based companies together to create one of the 30 largest banks in the country. Both banks' success to date has been due in part to Oregonians and Oregon businesses. The Northwest is our home, and going forward we have an opportunity to have an outsized impact on the economic vibrancy of the region. This notion was one of the many compelling reasons for our merger that Cort and I discussed. If either of our two organizations were combining with an institution from the mid-West, mid-Atlantic, or some other part of the U.S., the benefits would be spread across multiple regions, diluting the positive impact to Oregon.

The formation of new banks (also known as de novos) in Oregon used to take place on a regular basis before the
Great Recession of 2008. But if folk singer Pete Seeger were still alive, he might be tempted to write a new song titled Where Have All the de Novos Gone?
 
New banks are now harder to find in Oregon – and nationally – than Seeger’s proverbial flowers.
 
“Nationwide, we’ve seen a very low level of new bank formations since the recession 14 years ago. Unfortunately, in Oregon, the number has been zero,” said Linda Navarro, president and CEO of Oregon Bankers Association.
 
Interviews with regional and national experts revealed six causes of the large drop and how that might change in the future:

1. Low Interest Rates – The incredibly low interest rates have compressed margins, reducing what a bank can earn between what it pays its depositors and what it charges its loan customers.  
A de novo often starts with purchased money (such as offering higher interest CDs), rather than core deposits, said Thomas Brown, CEO of Second Curve Capital, an investment firm in Radnor, Pennsylvania.
 
“So, if you’re in a low interest rate environment and have a high cost of funds, that makes making money even harder,” Brown said.
 
“When interest rates are flat and the margins are shrinking, unfortunately the commercial banking industry isn’t as attractive,” added Chris Cole, executive vice president and senior regulatory counsel at the Independent Community Bankers of America in Washington, D.C.
 
This issue will not change soon, predicted Mark Vitner of Charlotte, North Carolina, a senior economist at Wells Fargo.
 
“I don’t see a whole lot of relief there,” Vitner said. “I’m afraid we’re going to be in a low interest rate environment for quite some time,” perhaps as long as the middle of this decade. “When the next recession comes around, we’re likely to still have interest rates below 3%.”

2. High Capital Requirements – The increased oversight of de novos has included a rise in the amount of capital new banks have raised from investors before opening their doors.  
A new bank was once able to start after raising $5 million. That has jumped to as high as $40 million in some cases, said Brown.
 
“That’s a lot of money to raise and for people to put down on an entity when interest rates are so low and margins are so thin,” said Cole.
 
A de novo is required to gather three years of capital up front. “That’s a hurdle that could be mitigated if we had some way of phasing it in,” Cole said.
 
“When you start a bank, you don’t have any loans or any income. It takes longer to break even,” said Craig Wanichek, president and CEO of Summit Bank in Eugene. “The requirement for additional capital is a barrier for entry for new banks.”
 
But Navarro cautions that the level of capital required by regulators is not set in stone. “It depends on a banks business plan and where it plans to open its doors. Those interested in starting a bank should not assume regulators will require them to raise $40 million in start-up capital just because a de novo bank in
L.A. required that amount.” Navarro added, “There are examples of more reasonable levels being approved that wouldn’t force a bank to take outsized risk to become profitable.”

3. More Competition – New sources of capital for customers have appeared in the past decade, making it harder for new banks to start, said many experts.
 
Advances in technology have also led to the rise of fintechs and “neobanks” (a tech company that provides online banking services through a partnership with an established bank). According to one recent report from banking tech company Zeta, one in 10 bank customers already consider a neobank as their primary bank, despite the potential pitfals of banking outside of the insured and regulated banking industry.
 
Furthermore, “People are starting loan funds themselves, even starting broker dealers,” said Vitner. “They’re conducting the lending side of the banking business without getting a charter and having to put up all that capital and deal with all the compliance a commercial bank would have to deal with.”
 
Making the problem worse, credit unions retain the advantage of being tax-exempt but continue to grow their business lending. Their government-subsidized business model create an unfair advantage, said OBA Chair Jeff Sumpter, president and CEO of Lewis & Clark Bank in Oregon City.

4. Talent Gap – It’s also difficult to find quality bankers these days, said many of the experts.  

“Right now, the biggest obstacle is finding quality bankers,” said Wanichek.
 
The good news is that students and young professionals are starting to take a closer look at banking as a career choice, said Navarro. “The challenge is that banks have to compete with every other industry also seeing wage inflation and a shortage of prospective employees,” she added.
 
The OBA Education Foundation has been instrumental in establishing new courses and experiential learning opportunities at University of Oregon and Oregon State University. This is attracting more graduates to the banking profession. Such efforts have been bolstered by bank participation. Noted Wanichek, Summit Bank has partnered with University of Oregon’s banking classes and hired about six students, as well as former business operators, and trained them in commercial lending.
 
When the FDIC reviews the application of a de novo, it wants to see experienced bankers among the key staff, said Tim Keehan, vice president and senior counsel at the American Bankers Association.
 
“You can’t just go off the street and find one,” he said.
 
It’s also difficult to hire the necessary tech expertise to manage the back-office processing of loans and keeping the books, Cole added.

5. Pandemic – COVID-19 has put a damper on new bank formation. Before the pandemic started, T.K. Keen, administrator of the Oregon Division of Financial Regulation, said the state bank regulators were contacted about once a year by people who were thinking high level about starting a bank. Since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, he has not received one such call.  

“I think the pandemic has halted those sorts of inquiries. People are waiting to see the direction the economy and interest rates are going to go,” he said.

6. Consolidation – With the difficulties in starting a bank, it could be that would-be founders might look at purchasing an existing bank as an easier way to get into the industry, said Keen. An existing bank already has the technology, staff and vendor relationships, for instance, that a new bank would have to create.  

“It’s easier to assume another bank than it is to create a new one,” said FDIC spokesperson Brian Sullivan of Washington, D.C. When the banking system was stressed in 2008, “we experienced a lot of bank mergers and a continuing trend toward consolidation.”
 
The Future
We will see more de novos appearing like flowers in the spring sometime in the future, the experts said.
 
Whenever a larger bank faces a problem, it’s an opportunity for small banks to win over new customers, said economist Bill Conerly, Ph.D., of Lake Oswego.
 
“So, there is always an opportunity for small banks. We will have more de novo banks form, though it may be a while,” Conerly said.
 
“We’re encouraged the FDIC itself would also like to see more de novo banks,” said Keehan. “It’s critical you have an agency on board. The agency has been aware of it for awhile and have sought to improve the prospects of getting new banks up and running.”
 
Keehan also pointed to some recent proposed national legislation, which has won bipartisan support, aiming is to make it easier to start a de novo.
 
Want to Start a Bank?“
Oregon families and businesses still have many banking options, but a vibrant economy and well-served communities require a

broad spectrum of banks,” said Navarro. “Oregon would benefit from more new banks forming in our markets. I definitely believe there is room for a bank with the right market, people and business plan.”
 
“If the right talent with experienced banking industry leadership were to start a bank in Oregon, particularly in a growing community, I think there would be regulators, investors and community members in the bank’s corner,” she added.
 
Any plan to open a new bank should include a specific purpose, a target market and goals, Keen suggested, adding he’s available to give advice.
 
“Please come talk to us. We’re happy to have a conversation and give our thoughts to anyone who’s thinking about starting a bank. We’d love to hear about the concept,” said Keen.
 
He can be reached at (503) 586-8143 or [email protected].

Retiree George Passadore grew up in a working-class family in SE Portland. As a result of his 41-year successful banking career in Oregon and his extensive community involvement, he obtained fortune, accolades and induction into the OBA Hall of Fame before retiring in 2003 at age 59.
 
While he was still working, George bought an industrial building near where he grew up. As a retiree, he spends about 10-12 hours there weekly.
 
The 4,500-sq-ft. structure is part party room, part classic car showcase and part Passadore family history museum. Its
memorabilia collection serves as an homage to the 1950s, 60s and 70s.
 
The one-story building is a place where George, 77, combines his five strongest passions: his family and its history, classic cars, neon signs, memorabilia and community support.
 
“I call it ‘my toy box’. I spend as much time here as often as any kid who wants to play with his toys,” said George. “If I’m in town and not committed to other things, you can usually catch me here buffing the cars, futzing around with something or just sitting around visiting with whoever happens to stop by.”
 
Here is more about George’s incredible career and his special building named Ragtime:
 
HIS HUMBLE BEGINNINGS 

Both sets of George’s grandparents immigrated from Italy to Portland. George’s father worked at the Union Pacific Railroad as a clerk. His mom worked at Montgomery Ward and the phone company. George was born in 1944.
 
“My two brothers and I spent our youth working on local farms,” George recalled. “Work was no stranger to any of us. We knew that in our life, we were expected to work.”
 
When he graduated from high school in 1962, the 18-year-old George went to work at First National Bank of Oregon, Portland. He soon married Nancy, his sweetheart from the third grade. They have three children and eight grandchildren.
 
A LEGENDARY CAREER

The work ethic instilled in George at an early age proved to be a benefit during his career.
 
“I used to say repeatedly, ‘I never knew a Monday from a Friday.’ Sometimes I would be disappointed that the (work) week was ending and that I would have to wait until Monday,” he said.
 
George’s initial role was sorting mail and processing checks. He later managed research and development in Oregon.
 
George’s career break came when he volunteered for a high- profile project to connect branches in 10 states to a mainframe computer. This enabled tellers to post and access account information online for the first time.
 
George was appointed SVP in 1981 as the company became First Interstate Bank. He rose to manage branches in five states, including Oregon.
 
Wells Fargo bought First Interstate in 1996 and promoted George to regional president for Oregon and SW Washington.
 
Looking back, George points to three banking innovations where he played a major role:

• Introducing more than 1 million debit cards to almost 400,000 households in Oregon.
• Installing the first ATMs in Oregon.
• Introducing the first home equity loans and lines of credit.

 
A COMMUNITY ICON 

During his career, George volunteered on countless community boards, including the OBA, Portland Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Tri-Met, OHSU, the Oregon Historical Society, Portland Chamber of Commerce and Portland Business Alliance.
 
When George retired, the hundreds of attendees at his retirement party included then Governor Ted Kulongoski and then Wells Fargo CEO Dick Kovacevich.
 
“If you were to ask me who is the role model for what we expect a senior executive to be across our entire Wells Fargo franchise, I
would say – without hesitation – George Passadore,” Kovacevich told the crowd. “You just could not ask for a more talented, committed and successful executive.”
 
Today, George serves on the boards of Moda Health, the Joseph E. Weston Foundation and the Portland-Bologna Sister City Association (which he helped form in 2007).
 
“He’s well respected in the community,” said real estate developer Joe Weston. “George is down to earth. He doesn’t put on any airs… I can’t say enough about him. He’s a good friend.”
 
“Oregon, especially Portland, is a better place because of George Passadore,” added Wells Fargo EVP and Oregon Region President Tracy Curtis. “He is a great friend and mentor.”

THE BIRTH OF RAGTIME

Dale Matthews runs Memory Lane Motors, a Portland dealership that sells vintage cars. George met Dale when he started shopping for old cars.

“He bought his first car from us in 1995: a 1941 Chevrolet pickup,” said Dale. “We’ve become great friends. He’s about the greatest guy you could ever meet. I have never ever heard anything but positive things about George Passadore.”
 
In 1996, George and Nancy were living in a condo and storing a few vintage cars in garages. He decided to find a place where he could display them and gather his large family for events.
 
“From Day One, I had in mind that we would have cars and a play area,” he said.
 
George found an industrial building in his old neighborhood and convinced the owner to sell it. After many renovations, his family held its first function there the next year.
 
“Initially, I focused on collecting convertibles. They were called ‘rag tops’ back in my day,” George said.
 
A friend saw the garage, dubbed it Ragtime and had a neon sign made for George that’s still on display there.
 
COLLECTING MEMORABILIA & MEMORIES 

Over the years, George has filled Ragtime with memorabilia he acquired from swap meets, antique stores and friends.
 
There are 10 vintage gas pumps, old gas company signs, old license plates from every state in the nation, vintage radios and phones, and political bumper stickers. Bicycles hang from the ceiling (almost all belonged to his grandchildren).
 
There is a 1940 bumper car, a 1956 Lambretta motor scooter, a 1947 Schwinn Whizzer gas-powered bicycle and a 1940s
Cushman motor bike. The kitchen area resembles a 1950s soda fountain. The Formica countertops are edged with chrome. The floor is black and white checkerboard. A vintage soda cooler sits next to a replica Rock-Ola bubbler juke box.
 
Ragtime has 96 vintage and replica neon signs. George has rewired the building twice to power them.
 
“I like the ambient light of neon. It creates an atmosphere. All of our family and guests enjoy the feel of Ragtime, I think principally because of the lighting,” said George.
 
There are about 10,000 photos of George’s family and career along a 100-ft. wall. He installed movable panels to double the amount of display surface.
 
“I had all these pictures and I thought, ‘They could sit in boxes and we’d probably never look at them again. Or, I could try and do something,’” he said.
 
Of the many thousands of items on display at Ragtime, George’s favorite is a simple white metal bench that holds a black and white photo.
 
In the 1945 photo, “I’m sitting on that bench with my great grandfather, my brother, my cousin and our family dog. I was able to keep that bench after my folks passed away. I had it powder coated and brought it down here,” he said.

THE CARS

George has room to display eight cars, which take up about half the floor space. He estimated he’s bought and sold more than 100 cars over the years.
 
“Friends laugh when I say I’ve bought my last car,” he said. “But I actually feel at this point in time, I’ve probably got the cars I enjoy the most.”
 
His current collection includes “the triplets”: Chevrolet sedans from 1956, ‘57 and ‘58. There is a Thunderbird and a Ford Crown Victoria, both from 1955, and a 1959
Corvette Stingray.
 
George bought a 1973 Beetle because his grandchildren enjoyed the “Herbie” films. A recent purchase was a 1981 DeLorean because of his fascination with its creator.
 
George opens the sliding doors at Ragtime and drives the cars out regularly.
 
“They need to be driven. If you don’t, they have a way of letting you know they’re not happy. Seals dry up. They leak more,” he said.

A GATHERING PLACE

​George’s family gathers at Ragtime for birthdays, anniversaries and holidays. He also frequently allows nonprofit groups to use the site, which can hold up to 150 attendees.
Wells Fargo’s Community Advisory Board and the Moda Health board held parties at Ragtime. The many retirement parties at Ragtime included the former head of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and some of George’s former coworkers.
 
George has no plans to sell Ragtime.
 
“I’ll go to my grave owning this building,” he said.

After Vanessa Spinks of Portland graduated from high school in 2016, she signed up with a temp agency and worked at a variety of jobs. The Oregon native cleaned cars, stacked crates at a berry farm, unloaded trucks at a warehouse, sorted fish parts at a factory and worked as a sales associate in a department store.
 
Spinks yearned for her first “adult job.” After signing up for – and completing – a free, eight-week training course in 2017 called BankWork$, she found her career in financial services.
 
Spinks, now 23, started out as a teller at one bank. She later served at another bank in Clackamas for three years as a teller, vault teller and merchant teller. Spinks now works at Wells Fargo as an escalated complaint specialist in the Credit Card department at one of the company’s call centers in Washington County.
 
Spinks is among the more than 3,600 success stories for BankWork$, which a retired Wells Fargo executive (Les Biller) started in Los Angeles in 2006.
 
The program is now headquartered in Seattle and is operated under its umbrella organization named CareerWork$. It seeks out local workforce development nonprofit organizations to provide the financial services training courses in 13 locations across the nation, including Portland.
 
Here is more about the impact BankWork$ has had on its participants in general, on Spinks in particular and how the OBA Education Foundation is helping:

Open to All
The program is open to anyone who is interested, said CareerWork$ President Sherry Cromett. There are only five criteria for applicants. They must:

1. Be 18 years of age or older
2. Have earned a high school degree or GED.
3. Be fluent in written and spoken English.
4. Possess basic computer skills.
5. Pass a background check.

 
Most of the trainees are between the ages of 18 and 34. BankWork$ will accept an older applicant who has faced career barriers, is trying to change their life or needs help getting started.
 
As it turns out, almost 80% of the applicants are female and 83% are from communities of color, Cromett said. More than 70% nationally are placed in a financial services position.
 
“There are so many people who have never been given access to a career in financial services,” said Cromett. “BankWork$ opens a door for those who might otherwise not have known they could be successful in a banking career.”
 
Sue Davis is a career navigator at SE Works, the nonprofit group that provides the BankWork$ training in Portland. The group advertises the program and typically gets 50 to 60 applicants. Interviews narrow the class (called a “cohort”) down to 15-20.
 
“They vet you to make sure you won’t leave the program once you’re in it,” Spinks said.
 
A typical candidate has worked in retail or a restaurant and has developed good cash handling and/or customer service experience, said Davis. They want to take their career to the next level and find work at a place that offers career opportunities, better wages and more stable hours, she said.
 
“I didn’t feel like I would do well in college right away,” said Spinks. “I felt BankWork$ would help me with my education and career.”

A Variety of Skills
​Besides teller training, BankWork$ also teaches a variety of “soft skills.” For instance, the students learn how to set up a professional-sounding voicemail message and how to write a proper business email. They learn corporate jargon, how to dress properly for work and how to navigate office etiquette.
 
The nonprofit Dress for Success partners with SE Works to provide professional outfitting for many of the female participants.
 
There are group activities and role playing. Representatives from banks are invited to conduct mock interviews.
 
“We got so comfortable interviewing that it felt natural,” said Spinks. “They get you comfortable doing small tasks you haven’t done before in a corporate setting.” 

OBA Among Sponsors
SE Works runs the program four times a year in Portland at a variety of locations, said Tim Finnegan, the Workforce Development Director at SE Works.
 
Banks and credit unions financially sponsor the program. Sponsors seeking new employees are given the first opportunity to interview the trainees at a job fair held at the graduation ceremony.
 
Nine state bankers associations in the country, including the Oregon Bankers Association and OBA Education Foundation, also endorse and sponsor the program.
 
“BankWork$ fills an important need for both banks and those looking to ready themselves for a career in the profession,” said OBA President and CEO Linda Navarro. “We in the banking industry often focus on college-level recruitment, but so many positions in banks don’t require a degree.”
 
“Banks can benefit by attracting job-ready, diverse and motivated candidates who are trained in the basics of banking and ready to take on a new, professional challenge,” Navarro added. “This is exactly what BankWork$ provides.”
 
Support After Graduation
After the trainees graduate, BankWork$ career navigators such as Davis continue to provide them employment guidance for at least a year.
 
“The staff members have supported me from the beginning and even now. I feel I can lean on them if I need it,” said Spinks. “They gave me lasting connections with people with whom I wouldn’t have otherwise had the opportunity to meet. Most of my LinkedIn contacts are BankWork$-related.”
 
Spinks has been a guest speaker at BankWork$ graduations and even interviewed some of the grads for jobs.
 
The Future
The pandemic forced SE Works to put the program on hold last year but revived it this year as a virtual class, said Finnegan.
 
BankWork$ classes in other parts of the nation also incorporated virtual training to augment their in-person classes, said Cromett.
 
“We believe that’s the winning model,” she said.
 
The plan is to expand BankWork$ to at least 10 other cities over the next four years, primarily in locations where it currently has no presence, Cromett said.
 
As for Spinks, she feels she’s landed at a bank where she can sink roots and start a long-term career.
 
“It has worked out great,” said Spinks. “I give 100 percent of the credit to BankWork$. I love this program so much.”