Squeezing Out New Loans: Bank Will Drink to That

The lemonade stand--long the staple of little business tykes everywhere--is being used by big business types, too.

Passing out free lemonade in hope of picking up a little loan business, the folks at Mission Viejo National Bank are taking to the streets on Sundays in search of prospective home-buyers.

In the last two Sundays, bank employees have lured thirsty home shoppers to their lemonade stands for free drinks and information about something they’ll need for a new home: a mortgage loan.

Bank employees at three lemonade stands, set up on street corners near new subdivisions in Mission Viejo, Brea and San Diego, have signed up five loan customers in nine hours of work.

“That may not seem like such a big deal, but it means $600,000 of new business for us,” said John Kirk, the bank’s vice president and marketing director.

“We’re not sitting back and waiting for the business to come to us. We’re going out to get it.”

Since the end of 1985, when it was a real lemon--one of the worst-performing banks in the county with a $1.6-million loss--Mission Viejo National has straightened out its internal problems and has turned aggressive. By the end of last year, it was one of the county’s top performers, squeezing out $1.3 million in net income.

The bank’s latest plan is more than a publicity stunt, Kirk promised. Volunteers from the bank’s staff will be out every Sunday until Labor Day.

Besides, with just $50.6 million in assets, Mission Viejo National is a small kid on the block compared with other area banks.

So it’s only natural, Kirk said, to do what small kids do.