the customer’s business and family. We have trained the tellers and the op-
erations personnel to be polite, courteous, and helpful when they receive a
request on the phone; thanks to the use of the most up-to-date computer
systems, the answers are usually readily available within a few seconds.
The operations staff checks everymorning for NSF (non-sufficient
fund) checks, and personally calls every NSF customer, asking them to
come to the bank as soon as possible to cover their positions, so that we
may avoid returning the check and creating unnecessary embarrassment for
the customer. This practice is not done any more by most of the other
banks, and it is highly appreciated by our customers. If the NSF behavior
becomes chronic, we have a private meeting with the account owner and
counsel him/her to either abide by the rules or leave the bank.
Training Program at the Bank of Whittier Open University
One of the challenges we faced when we moved to run the Bank of Whittier
as a successful RF bank was to find qualified staff. One option was to adver-
tise for experienced bankers who had experience and a successful track re-
cord in the community banking business. We have attempted this option
since 1998, without tangible success. Most of the experienced bankers we
met and worked with are used to a standard operating procedure that made
us wonder about their commitment to community service. The first thing
they would ask for is a very high salary package. The package not only
included a very high salary compared to the profit capability of the bank, it
also included other perks—an expensive car allowance, a country club
membership, or a generous expense account.
When we started planning the management changeover in July 2003,
we decided to start with a core group of bankers from the community, con-
sisting of a president, a chief financial officer, and a chief credit officer. They
all accepted a very humble salary and benefits package, because they were
committed to this new brand of banking. We also started interviewing fresh
business school graduates. We werelucky, because the bank was located
within a short driving distance from a number of high-quality business
schools. We believe that if we employed superior graduates who had
achieved a very high grade point average (3.75 out of 4 or higher), that
would present us with serious hardworking young men and women who
were fresh, smart, eager to learn, and excited about becoming the new RF
bankers of the future. We also concluded that a well-designed training pro-
gram should be designed and implemented to enhance the goal of producing
a new generation of successful RF community bankers.
Operating an RF Bank in the United States 331