A. Levy Bank Rivals Aim to Capitalize on Hometown Touch

It’s less than a month since First Interstate Bancorp, the Los Angeles-based parent of First Interstate Bank, announced plans to acquire the venerable Bank of A. Levy. But two of Levy’s small banking rivals are already battling for parts of the business that belonged to Ventura County’s largest independent bank.

“A big chain bank has swallowed another one of Ventura County’s local institutions,” laments an advertisement run in local newspapers by Ventura-based American Commercial Bank. “For those who value personal relationships and community banking, this is a sad trend and we’re sorry to see them go.

“But personal banking is still alive and well at ACB . . . Come Home To ACB.”

The ad features a picture of some of American’s top people, noting how long each has worked for the three-office bank.

Jim Beeninga, American’s president and chief executive, says several A. Levy customers, including business people, have already switched to American in the short time since the merger was announced. “They’ve told us they’d rather do business with us because we’re locally owned and independent,” he said.

“I’m sure they won’t be disappointed. Our loan officers and managers are authorized to make loans on the spot. Sometimes they come to a decision in as little as five minutes. And we make a point of knowing people’s names.”

Beeninga, incidentally, says American has no intention of following A. Levy’s lead and being acquired by one of the giants. “We feel we have a role to play, making loans as small as $50,000 to local businesses. We have mixed feelings about losing a top competitor, but we’re going to continue just as we have in the past.”

Another ad, from Oxnard-based Channel Islands National Bank, is headlined “Farewell, Old Friend.”

Noting that things won’t be the same without Bank of A. Levy around, Channel Islands suggests: “You may be one of their loyal customers who feels that banking with a locally owned and managed financial institution is still important. . . . So give us a call and we’ll do everything we can to make this transition easier for you.

“It’s our way of saying thanks for keeping your funds working here and believing that local banking is important.”

The message, signed by Channel Islands Chairman Stan Cohen and Chief Executive Chuck Elliott, offers former A. Levy customers a free order of checks, an ATM card and an endorsement stamp for business accounts.

Several days after the ad started running, Elliott said he wasn’t sure whether it had attracted new accounts. “But our lending officers tell me they’ve been successful in setting up appointments with business people who currently deal with Bank of A. Levy,” he said. “We’re hopeful that quite a few of these people will see the advantages of dealing with a local lender.”

Incidentally, Channel Islands announced last week that Elliott will leave next month because he had philosophical differences with the bank’s directors. Elliott wanted the bank to concentrate on serving businesses and professional customers, while the bank said it wants to serve businesses, but it also wants to concentrate on individual consumers too.

For its part, Bank of A. Levy’s agreed-upon new parent isn’t sitting on the sidelines while local independents go after Levy’s business.

First Interstate is running an ad itself, pointing out that between them, First Interstate and Bank of A. Levy have assets of almost $1 billion in Ventura County.

In an open letter signed by Bruce G. Willison, president of First Interstate, and Marshall Milligan, president of Bank of A. Levy, Interstate promises to build “on the legacy of Achille Levy and his family to become the kind of ‘big community bank’ we believe he would have envisioned for the Ventura County of the 21st Century.”