PORT ANGELES — It was business as usual on Monday at the three former Westsound Bank locations on the North Olympic Peninsula.
When the doors opened, the Westsound branches at Port Angeles, Sequim and Port Townsend became Kitsap Bank.
Government regulators seized Bremerton-based Westsound Bank on Friday. State officials cited Westsound’s precarious finances after making bad real estate loans.
All deposits at the former Westsound locations are safe, including those over the Federal Deposit Insurance Co.’s $250,000 insurance limit.
“It was business as usual,” said Shannon Childs, Kitsap Bank senior vice president and marketing director, on Monday.
“The volume of customers was probably no different than any other day.”
There were no lines of customers trying to make withdrawals.
“People made deposits,” Childs said.
“There weren’t a lot of people who were worried or concerned. We had a great day.”
Management at the former Westsound branches at Port Angeles and Sequim declined to comment, referring inquiries to Childs.
Jeremiah Wood, a two-year customer at the Port Angeles Westsound branch, said he was shocked to hear about the closure.
“I really liked Westsound bank,” Wood said.
“The people are nice. I got acquainted with a few of them. Another thing I liked was the ATMs. You don’t have to pay the service fee.”
Customers can still draw money from Westsound ATMs.
Checks made out on Westsound accounts will continue to be honored.
Susan Whitmire, vice president and commercial loan officer of one of Port Townsend’s local branches of Kitsap Bank, said the Westsound Bank at Sims Way and Hastings Avenue is still open for business under Kitsap management.
“At the start of business today this became a Kitsap branch,” Whitmire said.
“The Westsound employees are still here.
“We are just in here getting everything integrated into our systems.”
Like Childs, Whitmire assures customers previously with Westsound that their money is safe.
“All deposits are still here,” she said.
“They are with us now, and we have been here for 100 years. We are here for them now.”
Whitmire said the branch had seen eight customers walk through the door, and there had not been any complaints.
Kitsap Bank has two other branches in Port Townsend. One is at 2313 E. Sims Way and another downtown at 215 Taylor St.
Kitsap Bank’s two Port Angeles locations are a block apart — at 716 E. Front St. and 602 E. Front St.
In Sequim, the branches are at 990 E. Washington St. and 1320 W. Washington St.
Whitmire said she was unsure of what would happen with the Westsound locations.
“No decisions have been made yet,” she said.
“Right now we are just getting everything worked out.”
Likewise, no decisions have been made on the future of the former Westsound Bank at Front and Albert streets in Port Angeles.
Under the agreement with FDIC, Kitsap Bank has 90 days to determine what to do with its various leases, Childs said.
A branch selected for closure will remain open another 90 days.
It will take three or four months before computers are converted to allow former Westsound customers to use Kitsap Bank locations.
For now, Wood said, he is keeping his account at the former Port Angeles Westsound, where a Kitsap Bank banner is hanging near the main entrance.
Inside the building, staff left copies of an 11-page question-and-answer guide detailing the transaction.
“Nobody in this transaction lost money on deposits,” Childs reaffirmed.
“We were very pleased for how it went the first day.”
The nine-branch takeover is significant for Kitsap Bank. On the North Olympic Peninsula alone — Westsound locations totaled $130 million in deposits. The Kitsap Bank branches here totaled $104 million.
Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
