Suit Against L.A. Giant : Tiny Washington Bank Out to Secure a Name for Itself

WENATCHEE, Wash. — A small central Washington bank is taking on $79-billion banking giant Security Pacific Bank of Los Angeles in a trademark dispute.

Security Pacific Bank last year completed its takeover of Seattle-based Rainier National Bank, which Jan. 1 changed its name to Security Pacific Bank Washington.

That’s causing confusion among consumers, Security Bank of Washington charges in a lawsuit filed in Grant County Superior Court.

The suit seeks to prevent Rainier from using the new name in Security Bank of Washington’s marketing territory of Chelan, Douglas and Grant counties.

Jim Tuttle, president and chief executive of the Wenatchee bank, said Friday that no hearings have been set on the suit.

He said Security Bank of Washington was founded in 1952 as Security State Bank of Ephrata and started using its present name in 1965.

“For 24 years we’ve dealt in our trade area with that name and we’re known as Security Bank,” Tuttle said. “We just feel there is going to be massive confusion.

“We’ve already experienced a great deal of it even before the change, in improper mail, billings coming for them to us, through the Federal Reserve System wire transfers from other banks to customers of Rainier coming to us, and the problems of having to clean that up and straighten that up,” Tuttle said.

After Rainier announced the name change in October, Tuttle said he complained to Rainier officials and claimed that they told him, “We want this name recognition. Perhaps you should change your name.”

Tuttle noted that Rainier has $8 billion in assets and Security Pacific $79 billion, while his bank has $115 million.

“If the people with the money win all the time, we don’t have much to say about the form of government we live in,” he said.

Officials of Security Pacific Bank Washington--formerly Rainier--in Seattle said Friday that the bank had no comment on the suit.

The suit alleges that the name change violates the Washington Consumer Protection Act, is unfair competition and is a trade name infringement.