tell her that she had written a check without sufficient funds to cover it. We
all were surprised, because she never apologized but was always rude. We
decided to ask her to close the account. During my exit interview, I told her
that I was sorry about the ‘‘accent’’ problem, but asked her to remember
that the United States was founded and built and still is being built and
refreshed by people with accents, and I wished her the best.
The New Staff: A Strategy for Defining Whom
toLookforandWheretoSearch
We also decided to home-grow our own RF bankers using two approaches.
The first was to announce banking entry positions in the business schools in
surrounding universities. We looked for fresh graduates with an excellent
scholastic achievement, with a grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.75.
We also advertised for part-time tellers in the business schools. The idea
was to train these tellers at a young age (sometimes as young as 18) and
watch their progress closely in order to recruit our future staff. I knew that
this strategy and approach would need time, but I reasoned that this would
be the best investment for the future.
To train all of these new and fresh bankers, we pioneered the ‘‘Bank of
Whittier Open University.’’ The classes are held at least twice a year for 45
days from 8:00A.M. to 9:30A.M. and all staff members, including those with
prior banking experience, are required to attend. The training program will
be discussed in detail in Chapter 12.
This proved to be the most important decision we ever made to change
the fortunes of the bank. These smart fresh graduates were like sponges,
hungry to absorb information, to learn new banking regulations and tech-
niques, and to create new solutions to the problems we faced. They brought
with them vibrancy, fresh ideas, challenges that made me feel younger, and
most importantly the ability to be molded to believe in, operate, and serve
people in our new brand of banking—the RF banking way.
THE AUDIT POLICY: STRATEGY USED FOR
AUDITING BANK FUNCTIONS AND OPERATIONS
At the Bank of Whittier, N.A., we pioneered the use of a risk-based audit
program that helped management establish which areas of bank operations
needed to be audited in light of the risks associated and the extent of those
risks. Management innovated and developed a computer-based program
that helped institutionalize this risk-based audit function and determine the
frequency of each audit area.
Starting an RF Bank in the United States 307