Bank of the West making its mark downtown

Bank of the West has made its mark at the downtown branch of Commercial Federal Bank.

Though the sign with the new name was installed Tuesday, it was immediately overlaid with a vinyl bag bearing the Commercial Federal logo.

That’s because Bank of the West doesn’t close on its purchase of Commercial Federal until Dec 2, said Bank of the West spokesman Bob Wolff.

The purchase will bring Bank of the West, California’s fifth largest bank, into 12 new states and add 43 branches in Nebraska, including seven in Lincoln and one in Beatrice.

Wolff said the acquisition by Bank of the West will have no impact on the Lincoln workforce.

“Although the sign on the door will change,” he said. “Commercial Federal customers will find the same familiar faces in their branches.“

Signs at the other Lincoln branches may not be changed until after the closing, Wolff said. Some will get vinyl Bank of the West bags put over their Commercial Federal signs until permanent signs can be installed.

Nebraska Neon Sign Co. is in charge of the installations.

Bank of the West merged in 1998 with First Hawaiian Inc. to form BancWest Corporation.

In 2001, BancWest became a wholly-owned subsidiary of BNP Paribas, a European banking and financial services company that operates in 85 nations,

What are people saying about mortgages today:

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March.

Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgages all cut their 30-year mortgage rates to 5.75 percent this week.

Most people think of a mortgage as a means to an end. After all, you buy a house, not a home loan. But a mortgage is much more than the path to homeownership. It is a financial instrument that must be managed, just like any other financial investment.