Santa Barbara Bank Fills Void Left by A. Levy

As they near their one-year anniversary in Ventura County, folks at Santa Barbara Bank & Trust say they have gone a long way toward filling a hole left by the sale last year of Bank of A. Levy.

Santa Barbara Bank opened its Camarillo branch in February 1995 and its Oxnard and Ventura branches in April of last year after the closure of Bank of A. Levy. Santa Barbara Bank has a dozen branches in Santa Barbara County.

“When the Bank of A. Levy was sold to First Interstate Bank, we felt a strong community bank was leaving the area,” said Sue Chadwick, the Ventura-area manager for Santa Barbara Bank. “As a strong community bank ourselves, we felt we could fill the void.”

Santa Barbara Bank hired former Bank of A. Levy employees familiar with Ventura County and its banking clients to ease the move to the county and to increase the chance for success.

Bank officials are happy with the results. For 1995, Ventura County branches of Santa Barbara Bank posted deposits of $55 million, nearly double the $28-million goal set a year ago.

“That says there’s a need for us,” said Judy Frazier, trust administrator in the Ventura office. “People like our brand of service. We are very involved with the community. We’ve given dollars to youth organizations and community groups. Everybody has been focused on making us a success.”

As for future expansion into Ventura County, officials are keeping their eyes open, with a careful watch on the pending takeover of First Interstate Bancorp by either First Bank System Inc. or Wells Fargo & Co.

“We are looking, obviously, to grow,” Chadwick said. “We’re looking at First Interstate, to see who’s going to be the winning bidder. . . . We’re just going to monitor the market and see what opportunities arise.”

John Brinker, vice president and senior portfolio manager for Santa Barbara Bank, said Ventura County offers great potential. Brinker handles the bank’s investment accounts, including pensions, profit-sharing and IRAs.

“There are more businesses in Ventura County than in Santa Barbara [County], which means there are more employment benefit plans,” he said.

“Generally, the population is younger, more knowledgeable and growing more rapidly. California is coming back economically, and Ventura County is one of the strongest, if not the strongest, area.”