Yorba Linda Bank Seeks First Branch

The Bank of Yorba Linda, which has nearly doubled its assets in the last year, is seeking state approval for its first branch office in the downtown area of growing Victorville.

With approval from the state Banking Department, the 5-year-old financial institution plans to construct its 5,000-square-foot branch and begin operations next spring, said Walter Hannen, the bank’s president and chief executive officer.

“We looked at Victorville as one of the fastest-growing areas in the United States,” he said. “According to one survey I saw, it was listed as the eighth-fastest-growing area in the country.”

Hannen said the bank’s directors and staff began discussing the possibility of a branch in Victorville last May. After analyzing the area and the type of business it would likely attract, the directors agreed to apply to the state for approval of a new branch there, he said.

“We had a demand for business and were reaching a couple dozen customers there through a courier service,” said Hannen, who also is a bank director. “Some of our commercial customers said they would give us all their business if we came there, so it was a natural marriage.”

What adds to the match, he said, are the two new subsidiaries the bank started this year.

One is the Yorba Linda Mortgage Co., which provides construction and residential loans and financing for such commercial projects as shopping centers. The other is the Star Fleet Leasing Co., which leases cars, trucks and heavy equipment. “Both of these companies will fit in well with Victorville and its growth,” Hannen said.

With more than 3,500 customers and about 8,000 accounts, the Bank of Yorba Linda listed $41 million in assets through September, Hannen said.