Sterling Bank Opening First Wash. Branch In Bellevue

From Sterling Bankcorp: Sterling Bank & Trust (NASDAQ: SBT) today announced expansion into the Seattle Metropolitan Market with the opening of its Downtown Bellevue location. Ranked as the Top Performing Community Bank with assets of $1B-$10B in 2018 by SNL/S&P Global Market Intelligence in 2018, the 34-year-old organization currently operates in four major metropolitan locations – San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and now Bellevue.

With a unique aviation architecture and interior design by Seattle-based studio19 Architects, together with Dennis and Lisa Boses as art curators, the 2,100 sq. foot branch is located at 1100 Bellevue Way NE and opened to the public earlier this month.

“We’re very selective about our expansion markets and had our eye on the Seattle Metropolitan Market for a while,” said Sterling Bank & Trust President Michael Montemayor. “We believe Downtown Bellevue and the Eastside is well matched with our customer base and overall target demographic. We definitely consider this region a growth market for us.”

Founded nearly 35 years ago in Southfield Michigan, Sterling Bank & Trust has grown from a single- location branch in a small market to one of the strongest boutique banks in its asset class ($1B - $10B). The bank is well regarded for its high-touch customer relationships, a suite of niche loan products, a high concentration of core deposits and strong credit culture.

“We are a relationship-based lender and have grown our business through a long-term, disciplined approach that emphasizes focused geographic expansion with a focus on the niche products and services that have proved successful for us and our customers since our founding in 1984,” Montemayor added.

The bank is also well known for its Advantage Loan program, which works well for individuals with excellent credit and liquidity seeking quick approval and closing and who need to compete with all cash buyers. The program has been very popular with the Asian-American community, having originated more than $4 billion in transaction volume in the last seven years.

This popularity is evident in the recent Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA) loan officer rankings, which included an impressive six officers from Sterling Bank & Trust in its top twenty, including Yihou Han at #1, with $200M in residential lending last year alone.

Additionally, each bank branch is uniquely designed and artistically curated to reflect the specific culture of each location. For Bellevue, the region’s strong aviation history served as its focal point for the design team. Studio19 Architects, architect and interior designer for the project, drew inspirations from the aviation industry and created a modern airport lounge feel by employing clean lines, mixing industrial and luxury warm material palettes, along with the aviation-themed art and objects to generate a space where bank customers feel at home.

The Bellevue branch is currently hiring and interested applicants can contact Carol Zhen at 415.773.1530 x49117 for more information. The branch is open from 9 am – 5pm Monday through Friday. Sterling Bank & Trust customers can use any ATM anywhere without incurring non-branch ATM fees.

Image via Shuttershock