Bank of North Las Vegas opts for a new old name
Bankers, like many parents, often pick common names.
In the Las Vegas area, Valley Bank is one of the most popular, dating back at least to the 1950s.
On Tuesday, a third local financial institution announced that it would call itself Valley Bank.
In a statement, James York, chief executive and co-founder of Bank of North Las Vegas, said the bank decided to replace the old name with Valley Bank because of plans to expand valleywide sometime in the future.
"This is a celebration of our history," York said in a statement, noting that the bank opened in 2005. It has $82 million in total assets.
York wasn't available Tuesday afternoon for further comment on the name change, which is subject to regulatory approval. The bank was planning to celebrate the event with a hot-air balloon advertising the new name.
E. Parry Thomas, the longtime chief executive officer of an earlier Valley Bank, built his bank in the 1950s by making loans to casinos. In that way, Thomas' bank became key catalyst for growth in Las Vegas. Many commercial banks refused to make loans to casinos at that time.
Bank of America Corp. shelved the Valley Bank name when it acquired Thomas' bank in the early 1990s but continued lending to casinos.
Barry Hulin in 1998 became chief executive officer of a second Valley Bank. It was based in Henderson. Community Bank acquired the second Valley Bank in 2006.
Hulin, who retired from banking, was surprised that Bank of North Las Vegas was picking up the Valley Bank name. No permission was required. Hulin said bank a name is up for grabs as soon as the name is no longer in use.
Hulin and his team selected the Valley Bank name because it sounded specific, but wasn't. It appeared to be a reference to the Las Vegas Valley but worked equally well when the bank opened a branch in the Pahrump Valley.
"We thought it was general enough not to limit us to one part of town," Hulin said. "It didn't identify a specific type of business (client) or specific place."
Banks with the word "commerce" or "business" in their name are implying that they don't seek consumers as customers, he said.
The Valley Bank name also brought back memories of Thomas' Valley Bank, which helped build Las Vegas.
"It obviously resonated with a lot of old timers," Hulin said. In 1998, however, "we figured that close to one-half of people who were in Las Vegas were not there in 1991 when (the previous owners of Valley Bank) sold the bank."
Contact reporter John G. Edwards at
jedwards@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0420.
