Montecito Bank & Trust is expanding farther into Ventura County, with the launch of a new branch at 4730 Telephone Road.
About 200 people attended the official ribbon-cutting Tuesday, which included the presentation of a $2,500 donation to Ventura County’s FOOD Share program and a drawing for a work of art created by local artist Elain Thompson.
“This will be the bank’s second full-service branch in Ventura County,” President and CEO Janet Garufis said. “One of the guiding principles of the bank that owner and chairman of the board Michael Towbes has consistently reiterated over the years is that banking is all about service, service, service — to our customers, our communities and our associates.”
Towbes added: “It means something to be a local bank. We are very connected to the communities of Santa Barbara and Ventura counties; our associates are your neighbors, which makes our reputation and participation all the more important to us. The deposits we handle and the personal and business loans we make are all local — right here in the communities we serve.”
The bank offers a variety of deposit and lending solutions for businesses and consumers including: consumer loans, business loans and lines of credit, SBA loans, credit cards, merchant services, international banking assistance, online banking and cash management. Its Wealth Management Division, in Montecito, Solvang and Ventura, provides full investment management as well as trust services for all of the bank’s branch office markets.
“Our further expansion into Ventura County has been part of the bank’s master plan for some time,” Ventura Community President Marni Brook said. “We took our time because we wanted to find a location that was convenient for many local area businesses and residents.”
— Jonatha King is a publicist.