Wiens brings Firstier Bank back to Northern Colorado

Apparently, Northern Colorado remains an attractive target for the banking industry. Several banks are looking to enter the market and one will greatly expand its service.

Last year, the region had its share of publicity as a market that is closing in on saturation.

In the year ending June 30, Greeley’s branch growth was 22 percent, the fastest for all metropolitan markets in the country. Fort Collins was also in the top 30 fastest growing metro markets with 10.3 percent branch growth. The FDIC notes that all of these areas have population growth at or above the national average.

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Several banks headquartered in the region have shifted their growth focus elsewhere – Centennial Bank of the West and Bank of Choice among them.

“The business climate in Northern Colorado has gained such strength and promise that many people are looking there,´ said Tim Wiens, chairman and CEO of Broomfield-based Firstier Bank.

The bank and the executive might sound familiar. The Wiens family has owned farmland in Northern Colorado for generations and has been in banking consistently since 1963. The primary parcel of land is now being developed by Oakwood Homes into a subdivision called Thompson Crossing.

Firstier also had a presence in the region – with offices in Greeley, Fort Collins and Loveland – before selling to Compass Bank in 2000.

“We had no intentions of selling and were adamantly independent,” Wiens said of the bank. But virtually no banker will ever say that a buyout will never happen, especially for the right price.

So, when Compass Bank purchased Firstier. Wiens retained the rights to the name, but signed a three-year non-compete agreement. As soon as the non-compete was up, Wiens started up Firstier once again.

The $128 million bank has four metro-area locations and is ready to reestablish its Northern Colorado presence.

“We are indeed looking at Northern Colorado,” Wiens said. “We are actively pursuing the right location to begin our Northern Colorado business.”

He wouldn’t divulge specifics, except to say that the bank is looking in Loveland. Firstier’s previous Loveland branch, now a Compass location, is located at Centerra.

The bank will probably not position itself in Loveland with the consumer market in mind. Wiens said Firstier has the full gamut of consumer banking products, but isn’t out to heavily compete with the well branched banks that are convenient for the consumer market.

“We go after the business banking-business,” he explained.

Firstier focuses on small- to medium-sized businesses across all industries with a focus on real estate financing.

Coincidentally, Compass – the former Firstier Bank – is launching itself into the business-banking arena in Northern Colorado as well. Since entering the Colorado market, Compass Bank has handled virtually all of its business lending in Denver. Compass uses a commercial lending model in all of its larger markets. In many of its smaller markets, the bank uses a community-banking model to service the business lending needs.

Scott Peterson, city manager for Compass business banking in Loveland and Fort Collins, along with Phil Woodend in the Greeley market, is beginning to roll out the program here. They are in the process of hiring staff, contacting potential customers and putting together a local board of directors.

“We’re still in the start-up stage,” he said.

The community-banking model for Compass allows most decisions to be made locally.

“We can approve loans of up to $10 million at the local level without going to loan committee,” Peterson explained. “With the growth that’s going on, we’re a great fit for customers looking for big-bank products with a community-bank feel.”

Compass isn’t the only large bank with its eye on the business market in Northern Colorado. In December, Matrix Capital Bank’s holding company, Matrix Bancorp, announced the hiring of new management staff that would help expand the institution’s reach across the Front Range. The $1.9 billion bank hired Scot Wetzel, the former president of Compass Bank’s Colorado division, as its CEO.

A press release from the company, which plans to change its name to United Western, identified Fort Collins as the northernmost of six target markets. But competition hasn’t worked to dissuade banks from entering the market yet, and likely won’t in the future.

“There’s no question that there’s increased competition,” Wiens said. “To a great degree, there’s great competition in the past, present and future. You’ve got to be ready to compete.”