During his tenure as state banking commissioner, Thurston First Bank’s founding President/CEO Mike Edwards observed an alarming trend in the nationwide banking industry: consolidation. He noticed that, as more and more small community banks were swallowed up by larger institutions, services tailored to small and mid-sized local businesses began to disappear.

With a vision of filling that growing service void with a full-service “niche” bank, Mike set about assembling a strong business plan and a diverse Board of Directors comprised of prominent Thurston County business leaders.  Board members were hand-picked to represent shareholders and business clients based on their own experience and contributions to the local marketplace.

Drawn by the proposed bank’s lean business model, prestigious Board and innovative services, 370 South Sound investors contributed at a record pace to provide the bank with its $11 million initial capitalization in less than two months. Headed by attorney and Chairman of the Board, Stephen Bean, the fundraising effort was conducted strictly by invitation and word-of-mouth within the South Sound region, with no contributions solicited or accepted from “institutional investors.”

The extraordinary interest and funding generated from within the community allowed Thurston First Bank to launch in November 2004 with a full spectrum of innovative services and unrivaled lending power for an independent community bank.

Since then, Thurston First Bank has welcomed 21 employees and officers, and reached $76 million in loans and $90 million in total assets, as of June 2007.  Most importantly, it has earned an excellent reputation for integrity, friendliness and cutting edge technology, as well as a highly valued base of exceptional business clients and partners.