Not all of Snohomish County’s banks are struggling

Times have been so tough for local banks the past couple of years that stories about them have mostly been bleak.

But Eric Sprink, president and chief executive of Coastal Financial Corp. based in Everett, had some good news to share last week.

Unlike many of the banks headquartered in

Snohomish County — which was slammed hard by the real estate crash — Sprink has some new money to lend — $40 million to $50 million.

During the past three months, the bank has raised $6 million in additional capital. With that stake as an asset, it means the bank will be able to loan multiples of that amount to qualified borrowers.

“We’re pretty excited to be where we are,” Sprink said. “We’ve had some bumps along the road, too. But it looks like the horrible Great Recession is behind us.”

Sprink said Coastal Financial, established in 1997, continued to have enough assets to be considered “well capitalized” by government regulators throughout the recession.

In fact, he said, the bank grew significantly the past couple of years as people moved their money from larger banks to smaller, local institutions like Coastal.

“People are choosing local banks and Coastal is benefiting from that,” Sprink said.

He said that in the past 26 months, new customer checking and savings accounts have added $48 million to the bank’s core deposits.

“That’s been huge for us,” he said. “In two years, we grew what had taken us 12 years” to build.

The bank’s small size has helped it through tough economic times, as have existing investors who put more money on the table.

“We’re such a small bank that we know our people,” Sprink said, referring to borrowers. “We talk to our customers all the time.”

That, he added, may have helped keep the bank from getting into the trouble that has hurt many others.

In Snohomish County, several banks have been taken over by larger ones. Last year, that happened to Frontier, City and North County banks. Cascade announce earlier this year that it will have a new owner and First Heritage has been told by federal regulators to raise more money or find a buyer.

As a result, Coastal — still a relative newcomer to the county — is now in a position to become the largest bank headquartered here if the Cascade deal goes through.

“I don’t necessarily like how we got there,” Sprink said. “I don’t like what happened to our peers.”

Because of the financial troubles at many banks, small businesses around the country have found it difficult to get loans to expand or just to keep operating.

Sprink thinks that’s the case here.

“Coastal believes there are a lot of unmet needs in Snohomish County,” he said. “There’s been a limited amount of lending in the last three years. That’s why we raised this capital.”

Lost wallet/purse

A number of readers commented on the column last week on my almost-lost wallet.

Pat Sebald of Camano Island said he carries everything in a small fanny pack because he hated the huge bulge in his back pocket. “My pack has never fallen off without me being the first to know,” he said.

William Thomas, commenting on my warning not to carry your Social Security card, noted that most seniors do have to carry a Medicare card, which uses the SSA account as an identification number.

“You need to carry it as proof of some kind of insurance coverage.” he said. “That puts a hard copy of your Social Security number in every file of every place you go for a medical reason. I’m not happy about that but that is probably the most antiquated system which I have no chance of changing.”

Judy Oberg of Everett noted the same problem. She also said that leaving things at home doesn’t keep them safe. “Our home has been broken into twice, even though we have an alarm system,” she said. “Leaving cards at home, or carrying them at all times. No easy answer.”

Donna Larson of Arlington suggested the government stop using SSA numbers for Medicare identification beginning with new enrollees, so the system will eventually wean itself from using the number without costing a lot of money to enact a new system immediately.

Thanks for all the comments.

Mike Benbow: 425-339-3459; benbow@heraldnet.com.