Bank of Nevada division specializes in serving lawyers
Sarah Guindy has big goals for the Juris Banking division she leads at Bank of Nevada.
She wants to do for banking law firms what Station Casinos Inc. has done for locals gaming — offer a unique experience at multiple destinations throughout Southern Nevada.
“My goal is to make law firms everywhere in Las Vegas aware of the Juris program,” said Guindy, executive vice president and regional manager. “We want to bank all kinds of attorneys from bankruptcy to trial to corporate law firms.”
Since launching Juris Banking almost five years ago, Guindy and her team — Kimberly MacClafferty, Mark Larson and Jacqueline Parker — have been busy marketing the division to new clients and serving existing firms.
“We have a team of professional bankers who know the local legal community and are very involved ... (with) local organizations.”
Each specialty banker is in a different office throughout Las Vegas. There are no plans to expand the division now.
Bank of Nevada’s Juris Banking division offers financial, treasury, escrow deposit, bill pay, online, acquisition earn-outs and merger and acquisition services. She said lines of credit are also available for firms.
“Mostly it’s trial lawyers who need support with their cash flow,” Guindy said. “Remember, some trials may take two, three or even five years to settle. We offer them a line of credit until there’s a settlement.”
Guindy said her group wouldn’t be doing its job if it didn’t “track every dollar that’s spent.” She said the group aims to assist clients through a case until it’s settled, or leave them financially viable if they lose a case.
For the Juris Banking division, the pool of potential clients remains steady; the group targets new attorneys and assists students at Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
“There are a lot of opportunities to help some of the new attorneys,” Guindy said. “At UNLV law school, we’ll provide students with a financial education. There are too many students with too much debt that try to start a practice.”
Guindy recommends new attorneys don’t go out on their own for at least five years. The biggest mistakes new attorneys usually make are struggling with poor management and not having plans to target revenue growth, she said.
Similar to other leading local financial institutions, Bank of Nevada has focused on providing services beyond the traditional to include wealth management, investment and tax compliance through a partnership with Miller Russell & Associates LLC.
Guindy said the bank is developing new lines of business including a medical banking team in Henderson, and a new franchise team that was established about two months ago.
“Our franchise team has had a lot of success,” Guindy said. “We are very focused … understanding what each industry is doing before we move in.”
EAST WEST BANK
East West Bancorp Inc., parent of East West Bank and Los Angeles County’s second-largest local bank by assets, will roll the dice on Las Vegas. The Pasadena, Calif.-based bank expects to open its first branch early next year.
The bank leased space on the corner of Spring Mountain Road and Decatur Boulevard.
East West recently reported higher net income in the first quarter as loan growth and credit quality improved. The bank reported first-quarter net income of $72.1 million, or 50 cents per share, up from $68.1 million, or 45 cents per share, a year earlier.
East West, which trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol EWBC, has $23.1 billion in assets, putting it slightly behind City National Bancorp, (ticker: CYN, New York Stock Exchange) parent of City National Bank, with $27.4 billion.
East West, founded in 1973, has more than 120 branches in the United States and China.
NEWS & NOTES
A recent survey by the Nevada Credit Union League shows more Nevadans are saving compared with the rest of the country, but aren’t saving enough.
About 60.7 percent said they have a savings account designated for emergencies. But 38.3 percent say their savings will not cover one month of essential expenses.
Although many Nevadans have learned the importance of saving, 39.3 percent find it difficult to save for emergency purposes only. And 57 percent said they have used their savings to buy a nonemergency item within the last 12 months.
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Zions Bancorp, the Salt Lake City-based parent of Nevada State Bank, has completed its stock offering of 5.048 million shares, raising $126.2 million. After commissions and fees, the company expects about $123.1 million.
“Zions intends to use the net cash proceeds from this offering for general corporate purposes, which may include the redemption of certain securities,” the bank holding company said in a statement.
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George Stanfield has been named head of Bank of the West’s Southern California Division, which includes Southern Nevada. Stanfield is responsible for consumer and business banking operations within Southern California, Southern Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico.
Bank of the West, with $63 billion in assets, operates six branches in Southern Nevada.
