Compass Bank moves from RVs to new office Monday

Overcoming seemingly insurmountable physical and regulatory obstacles in record time, Compass Bank's Bullhead City office gets a new home and even new hours, starting Monday.

“It all came together beautifully and our staff just did a marvelous job,” according to Compass Bank's executive vice president, Key Campbell.

The bank will open its new office 9 a.m. Monday in Sunset Promenade, next to the Wal-Mart Supercenter.

It had been one of 26 Compass banks housed inside Arizona Albertson's stores.

As part of the lease, Albertson's was required to give Compass a 120-day notice that it was terminating the agreement, Campbell said.

Instead, the bank had six days to find a new home, after Albertson's informed its employees it was closing the store.

Murphy's law was in full effect. When bank officials decided to set up temporary headquarters in two recreational vehicles, they couldn't find any. “One RV was available in Yuma,” Campbell said. They scrambled to bring in two from Phoenix.

The 120-day provision in the lease was needed because federal law requires a bank to give its customers a 120-day notice if it's closing a branch and a 90-day notice if it's moving a branch office, according to Campbell.

The six-day notice from Albertson's, “...Quite frankly, put our charter at risk,” Campbell said.

Compass had to get a waiver from the U.S. Treasury Department's office of the Controller of the Currency, according to Campbell.

The feds were “extremely understanding. We got great cooperation and help from them,” Campbell said.

Another waiver was required from Bullhead City. The RVs set up in Albertson's parking lot would be in violation of the city's “dry camping” ban.

Campbell praised Pam Bruno from the city's Planning and Zoning department.

“They could have made it very difficult for us. They did not. They understood the situation and have been gracious,” Campbell said.

When Compass employees saw their Albertson's neighbors getting pink slips, bank officials brought in counselors. “Any time we have an unusual situation at one of our branches - a robbery, a bomb threat, something like that,” Compass makes counselors available to their employees, according to Campbell.

The two questions the employees had were: Is the bank staying open and where is it moving to? They were told “We are staying in Bullhead City.”

Campbell also revealed the two locations the bank was looking at for a new office and asked his employees to keep the information confidential due to ongoing negotiations.

Those negotiations wrapped up very quickly. Campbell arrived in town on Jan. 24, the first full day Compass spent in its temporary RV offices. “By Friday, we had a lease signed. The location near the Wal-Mart Supercenter seemed ideal to us,” Campbell said.

The bank will have spent less than three weeks in its makeshift office. “Our clients have been marvelous. We have not had one complaint,” according to Campbell.

“Every customer who has shared an opinion, it has been, ‘Thank you for what you're doing. Thank you for not leaving Bullhead. Thank you for taking care of the staff.' Nothing but compliments,” Campbell said.

The bank will eventually add some additional employees. “A senior lending officer and an assistant and a more junior lending officer,” according to Campbell.

With the move, the bank will be opening an hour earlier than before. Its hours will be 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, Campbell said.

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.