Personal Banking Still Key at First Federal

Oakland’s Rockridge neighborhood feels a lot like a village from a faraway place with two busy streets, aka College and Claremont Avenues, graced by local merchants that range from flower stalls to a meat market. It’s the kind of place where the merchants and neighbors know each other by name and keep abreast of business openings and which customer’s child is attending what college. One might even find a bank whose manager walks down the street to collect the deposit bag from a butcher who’s too busy with customers to get to the bank. Okay, you say, the story about the bank manager can’t be real. That is until you speak with Shayla Brown, Rockridge branch manager at First Federal Savings & Loan of San Rafael.

“There’s a meat market right down the street where we’ve gotten to know all the employees and the owner, who recently had a baby,” says Brown, who joined First Federal five years ago. “We are also customers of her business and, though we may be small, we assist her with all of her banking needs. There’ve been times when she can’t get out of the shop, so I’ll head down and pick up her deposit.”

Yes, it’s true. Personal banking is more than a slogan at First Federal. While many banks greet visitors these days with the suggestion they take their business outside to the ATM or, better yet, complete their transactions by phone or online, Brown says learning about one’s customers is a key component of personal banking.

“We have online and mobile banking systems. Our clients can also use ATMs across the US without First Federal fees and we’ll even reimburse the ATM fees other banks charge,” says Brown. “But when a local psychologist comes in to deposit checks from her patients, we make a point to ask her about her day, inquire about her family who we know by name and, of course, ask her if there are banking questions that we can answer.”

In addition to mobile banking, First Federal offers all the products expected from a full-service bank. Personal and business checking accounts feature a first box of free checks and a free Mastercard debit card, among other benefits. There are also competitive rates on savings and certificate of deposit accounts.

In addition to the Rockridge branch, First Federal maintains branches in Fairfax, San Rafael, and the Marina and Portola Districts in San Francisco. The bank participates in the

Redwood Forest Foundation to help preserve northern redwoods, among more than 30 other non-profit beneficiaries. The sole remaining mutual institution headquartered in California, First Federal is mutually owned for the exclusive benefit of the community, depositors and borrowers, a significant difference from banks that are beholden to profits and their shareholders. “We are very competitive with every other bank,” Brown says. “We also provide safety deposit boxes and other services that many competitors no longer provide because they don’t generate enough profit.”

Brown entered the banking industry in 2008 because she wanted to help people who were struggling financially. The First Federal personal banking approach suits her perfectly.

The examples she shares about how personal banking manifests at First Federal appear infinite. There’s the client who has been banking with First Federal for two decades. For years he has visited the bank to enjoy a cup of coffee and read his book for few minutes as part of his morning ritual. He is not keen on online banking and likes to personally know who is managing his money. He is also very fond of the fact that when he calls the bank someone answers the phone, an impossible ask at almost any other financial institution, as most of us know.

Brown says answering the phone and having the flexibility to help customers is exactly the reason authentic personal banking is even more significant in the digital age.

“We have a new client who moved to First Federal because she was tired of having a bank that didn’t know her,” says Brown. “She has been with us for two months and just this past Monday she called because she wants to convert her savings account to a trust. However, having recently broken her hip, she is confined to her apartment. She thought she would have to hire a mobile notary to sign her legal papers because there was no way she could go and see one.”

A notary herself, Brown alleviated her client’s concerns when she offered to draw up the papers and take them to her client’s apartment to have them signed at the kitchen table. “It’s so rewarding to tell a client not to worry about a financial situation. We want all our customers to remain happy working with us, to grow with us, and to remain part of our greater community.”

This past year reminded all of us about the importance of human contact, yet the business world continues to sacrifice intimacy for an increasingly digital, profit-driven economy. While it’s true that many of us have never been busier, none of us wants to be shuffled out the door when making a financial transaction or dumped into an endless warren of phone prompts.

First Federal Savings & Loan takes the opposite approach, learning customer’s names, providing uniquely personal service, a comfortable environment, and competitive products. Rockridge residents may not need a coffee or deposit pickup from their bank every day, but isn’t it nice to know a bank like First Federal still exists? Visit the First Federal website at https://www.ffsavings. com/or, better yet, stop in to meet Shayla or a colleague to learn how authentic personal banking can work for you.