Tempe lands bank office:
New facility will hire up to 1,000 people by end of 2018
Bank of the West will open a new office in Tempe that will support company operations across the country. The facility could have as many as 1,000 employees by the end of 2018.
The Phoenix metro area might or might not land Amazon’s much-ballyhooed second headquarters, but the region has some momentum with the announcement of a major financial office coming to Tempe.
Bank of the West said it could hire up to 1,000 people at a new office that will support company operations across the nation.
Signs already have gone up at the Tempe facility at 1625 W. Fountainhead Parkway.
“Our new facility in Tempe will be an important addition to our footprint and play a key role in our long-term growth,” said Nandita Bakhshi, president and CEO of the San Francisco-based financial-services company, in a statement.
John Thomason, head of the company’s corporate-services division, will manage the new Tempe office. Based on the ability to find workers and other factors, the office potentially could have about 1,000 employees by the end of 2018, he said.
It would be the company’s secondlargest U.S. office outside those in the San Francisco Bay area and would support a full range of bank operations.
Bank of the West ranks 11th in terms of Arizona deposits, with a 1 percent market share.
JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Bank of America, the state’s perennial
leaders, have a near-68 percent share of statewide deposits, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Bank of the West has 18 Arizona branches, primarily outside the Valley. The presence of the Tempe facility might or might not lead to more branches elsewhere in metro Phoenix, Thomason said.
The site-selection process took about 18 months.
As favorable factors, Thomason cited Tempe’s “vibrant, centrally located community” that includes “a robust pool of talented professionals and favorable business conditions.”
Also, he noted that a recent report from the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce found that 88 percent of local companies rate the business environment as excellent or good, with two in three businesses projecting that their revenue will increase in the coming year.
“We were significantly impressed with the seeming ease of conducting business here and the welcoming attitude,” Thomason said.
Founded in 1874, Bank of the West provides personal, commercial, wealth management and international banking services through more than 600 branches and offices in 23 states.
European parent BNP Paribas, which is headquartered in Paris, counts more than 192,000 global employees.
Current and future openings can be viewed at www.bankofthewest.com/ about-us/careers.