Columbia Bank plans Sept. 8 opening date
Penny Morris, left, and Maria Rosales, who manned an informational booth at the Mattawa Communities Day on Saturday, will be the branch manager and on-site manager of the new Columbia Bank in Mattawa. They had the same roles with the Mattawa branch of the old Bank of Whitman.
MATTAWA - The community of Mattawa could have a functioning bank as soon as Sept. 8. It will be in the former Bank of Whitman building and be known as Columbia Bank.
Other than the name, not much will be different. Columbia has hired all of the same people who were employed the day Bank of Whitman closed.
"I am very happy," said branch manager Penny Morris, who is also the branch manager at Othello. "Everybody is going back to work. Our target date is Sept. 8."
As she did with Bank of Whitman, Morris will visit the Mattawa Branch once a week. Maria Rosales will be the on-site manager, which is the same post she held with Bank of Whitman.
Morris and Rosales manned a booth at Mattawa Communities Day. They were very busy as a bank-less community flocked to their table.
"They were very happy we are back," Morris said.
The Bank of Whitman closing has been quite a saga. Simply stated, the Colfax-based bank failed. It was ordered closed by the Washington Dept. of Financial Institutions just weeks ago, leaving Mattawa without a bank.
All 20 branches Bank of Whitman branches, including Royal City, went into receivership, with the FDIC (Federal Depositors Insurance Corporation) as the receiver.
Shortly after the closures, Columbia State Bank, based in Tacoma, bought eight of the branches, not including Mattawa. It did not act on the other 12.
Shortly after that, Sterling Savings Bank filed an intent to buy the Mattawa branch with the FDIC. It appeared SSB would be the new Mattawa bank.
Representatives of Sterling Savings Bank came to town to state their intentions and get a feel for the community. They even made a $500 donation to the Mattawa Food Bank at the grand opening of the new facility.
But Columbia Bank filed an intent to buy, and FDIC had to allow both banks to make a bid. Columbia's was the stronger.
"We have to take the bid that is in the best interest of the FDIC," said FDIC public information officer Greg Hernandez in Washington, D.C.
Morris and her crew hosted about 40 members of the community at a Tuesday luncheon last week. They introduced Columbia, explained any changes and answered questions.
"It was really a nice turn-out," Morris said.
Hernandez noted 11 of the Bank of Whitman branches remain in receivership. There is time for a bank to buy one or all of the branches. He said the process for liquidation of the buildings can take up to three years.
But, as of last Friday, no bank was indicating interest. Saturday Morris said there has been no discussion at Columbia of the Royal City branch.