Walla Walla, Wash.-based Banner Bank says it plans to open a large branch office in downtown Spokane that will serve as a base here from which it will expand its presence in the Spokane market. As part of that mission, it also plans to build a new branch next to the old Newport Cinemas building on the far North Side.


Banner Bank, whose parent company, Banner Corp., acquired Spokane-based F&M Bank last May, now has 16 branches in Spokane. Its 17th branch will be located in the Grant Building, at 806 W. Riverside downtown, which Spokane-based Grant Building LLC currently is remodeling.


The bank is leasing the entire 12,000- square-foot ground floor of the three-story, roughly 42,000-square-foot Grant Building, as well as 2,000 square feet of space on the third floor, says Lloyd Baker, CFO of Banner Corp. The branch, which will be the banks main Spokane office, likely will open in early 2009, says D. Michael Jones, president and CEO of Bannner Corp.


Weve been looking for a branch downtown for a long time, and its a very good location, he says. Were excited to be a part of what I think is a terrifically revitalizing downtown area.


The retail branch will offer lending services, and will house about 10 lenders, which is more than a typical Banner Bank branch has, he says. The office will employ a total of roughly 30 people, including a mixture of current employees and new hires, Jones says.


Meanwhile, Banner Bank has leased land at the northeast corner of U.S. 2 and Hawthorne Road, next to the old Newport Cinemas, which closed in 2004, for a branch it plans to build, Jones says. The project hasnt been designed yet, but Jones expects the branch will have about 3,000 square feet of floor space.


Ive been picking sites for bank branches for 40 years, and its one of the best locations Ive ever seen, in terms of the terrific traffic flow and visibility, and the need it fills for our branch system, says Jones, who once was the No. 2 executive at Old National Bancorporation here, which later was acquired by U.S. Bancorp, then of Portland.


Construction of the new branch likely will start late this year or early next year, and would take about five months to complete, weather permitting, he says. The branch, which will include lending services, likely will employ about nine people, he says.


Banner Corp. is a $4.5 billion bank-holding company with a total of 1,200 employees, including those who work for Banner Bank. Its Banner Bank unit has branches in Washington, Idaho, and Oregon. The bank was founded in Walla Walla in 1908.


Contact Emily Proffitt at (509) 344-1265 or via e-mail at


emilyp@spokanejournal.com.