ABA Banking Journal - October 2008 - (Page 36) RETAIL BANKING REPORT Still pushing the envelope Now $8.3 billion, offbeat Umpqua Bank is “no gimmick,” says CEO Ray Davis. In an interview he credits culture and empowerment for the bank’s success L ong before the value of a cup of joe and an overtly retaillooking environment was conventional banking wisdom, Portland, Ore.-based Umpqua Bank offered its customers coffee and a chat. The bank’s sharp-looking branches began popping up in Oregon at the forefront of the experience-design movement after CEO Ray Davis and his team bought into an idea that said, don’t be visually boring and support your brand in your branch outlets; the investment will pay off. The idea of all of it? To make financial products tangible and customers feel like banking could be more than an errand. With 148 stores that sit between Napa Valley and Bellevue, Wash., and a growing reputation as a bank that’s reinvented the rules of retail banking, Umpqua is succeeding on the terms of differentiation it set out for itself. Certainly there have been pressures. In 2007, the bank experienced just 5% organic growth, well down from previous years, and reported earnings of $65.3 million, or $1.08 per share, down from $1.63 per share. Yet, there has also been progress. That same year, the bank acquired $727.8 million-assets North Bay Bancorp based in California’s Napa Valley. Last November, the bank launched its Innovation Lab in Portland (shown above), a one-of-a-kind branch run with technology partners to help the bank figure out new approaches to retail service, even as it addresses the needs of tech lovers. Not a bad year in an environment characterized by drastically downsized performance by many. Also in 2007, Davis wrote a book, Leading for Growth: How Umpqua Created a Culture of Greatness, and the bank ranked 34th in Fortune Magazine’s Top 100 Companies to Work For in 2007. Early in September, ABA Banking Journal talked with Davis about retail delivery, strategy creation, and execution. With a reasonable demeanor, Davis is certain without being arrogant—sure of his bank, without preening over it. How would you describe your bank’s retail delivery strategy and why it has been successful? Our strategy has been to engage the customer by dramatically changing what happens at a branch. Back in 1994, when we were looking at the competitive landscape at an asset size of $140 million we asked the question, why should anyone do business with us? It was clear that we couldn’t out-resource, out-gun, out-man, the big banks. So we set out to differentiate ourselves in customer Subscribe at www.ababj.com By Lauren Bielski, senior editor 36 OCTOBER 2008/ABA BANKING JOURNAL http://www.umpquabank.com http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0787986070?ie=UTF8&tag=ababankingjou20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0787986070 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0787986070?ie=UTF8&tag=ababankingjou20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0787986070 http://www.ababj.com Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ABA Banking Journal - October 2008 ABA Banking Journal - October 2008 Contents Editor’s Column A Banker's View of FHA's "Hope for Homeowners" Program Snapshot: Branch Sales Sag to Ten-Year Low Covered Bonds Gain Interest after GSE Takeover ABA Chairman’s Position ABA Resources Hot, Web, and Green Rethinking Segmentation Still Pushing the Envelope Keep Regulation Functional Capital Windfall? Mortgage IT: Not This Year's Hot Property Case in Point: Looking for Sales in All the Right Places Put Your BSA/AML Program into Shape Mailbox Banker’s Mart To Advertise/Index of Advertisers Remembering Joe Kizzia, Veteren Editor of ABA Banking Journal 100th Anniversary: Then & Now The Economy ABA Banking Journal - October 2008 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS/BAKS0515 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS/BAKS0415 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS/BAKS0315 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS1014 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS0914 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS0814 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS0714 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS0614 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS0514 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS0414 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS0314 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS0214 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS0114 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS1213 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS1113 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS1013 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS0913 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS0813 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS0713 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS0613 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS0513 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS0413 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS0313 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS0213 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS0113 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS1212 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS1112 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS1012 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS0912 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS0812 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS0712 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS0612 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS0512 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS0412 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS0312 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS0212 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS0112 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS1211 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS1111 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS1011 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS0911 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS0811 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS0711 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS0611 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS0511 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS0411 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS0311 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS0211 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS0111 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS1210 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS1110 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS1010 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS0910 http://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/BAKS2/BAKS0810 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj0710 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj0610 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj0510 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj0410 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj0310 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj0210 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj0110 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj1209 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj1109 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj1009 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj0909 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj0809 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj0709 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj0609 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj0509 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj0409 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj0309 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj0209 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj0109 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj1208 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj1108 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj1008 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj0908 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj0808 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj0708 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj0608 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj0508 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj0408 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj0308 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj0208 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj-compsurv08 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj0108 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj1207 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj1107 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj1007 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj0907 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj0807 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj0707 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj0607 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj-jackhenry http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj0507 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj0407 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj0307 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj-compsurv07 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj0207 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj0107 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj1206 http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababjcompsurv2006 http://www.nxtbookMEDIA.com