New Name, Mission: Noah Bank

Located in the Fort Lee Plaza on Lemoine Ave. in Fort Lee, the Noah Bank is both local and convenient. Formerly called Royal Asian Bank, the bank catered to mostly Korean American customers but now hopes to increase its non-Korean customer base. 

"Our parent company used to be Royal Bancshares of Pennsylvania, or Royal Bank America, but after going independent, we decided to rename our bank to Noah Bank," executive vice president Marie Lee said. "Our membership with non-Koreans are at about, I would say, 20 percent of the customer base, but we want to swell that number."

As a subsidiary of Royal Bancshares, Royal Asian Bank was established in March 2004 in Philadelphia, Pa. with a loan lending office in Fort Lee. The bank originally developed due to growing Korean investors from both South Korea and the U.S.

But with more branches now in Palisades Park, Flushing N.Y. and Cheltenham Pa., the recently renamed and and now independent bank aims to change their philosophy and appeal to a more diverse customer base. 

"Our original goal was helping Koreans through Korean speaking representatives," Lee said. "Back then and still now, we can satisfy Korean customers’ needs better than other banks because we have some culture. But we want to change that and attract more non-Korean Americans, which we are in the process of doing.”

One of the attractions that Noah Bank offers, according to Lee, are certificate of deposits (CDs) with higher interest rates than other banks, resulting in more non-Korean memberships. 

In terms of loans for businesses and retail, the executive vice president added that the loan process is quicker and more convenient than other banking institutions.

"Our bank’s emphasis focuses on Small Business Administration (SBA) Loans and other commercial lending," she said. "So far, our service has been friendly with satisfying our customers’ needs."

Since branching off from its parent company in December, Royal Asian Bank decided to change its name in order to make it clear that it doesn't only serve Asian customers. And though the name Noah is not official on paper, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has verbally given its approval. 

Even before changing its name to Noah, however, Royal Asian Bank was used by non-Korean American locals. But with its new "identity," the company is aiming to expand that 20 percent and make it a more diverse institution. 

"This should be a new beginning for us and communities around us," Lee said. "We didn’t mean to restrict our business tertiary to just Koreans when we were Royal Asian Bank. We do receive some positive feedback from non-Korean customers and hope to hear more from them."