Venture partners now wonder

CLOSURE: Local bank 'did a lot of investing in the community,' but what about new ownership?

ROLF BOONE; The Olympian | • Published September 14, 2009

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DuPONT - Venture Bank President and Chief Executive Jim Arneson was removed from his position Friday night about the time state and federal regulators closed the bank and sold it to First Citizens Bank of North Carolina, a spokeswoman for that bank said Sunday.

In addition to management changes, some wonder how Venture Bank’s closure will affect the service groups, nonprofit agencies and charities the bank donated to and sponsored.

“They did a lot of investing in the community and took on local projects,” South Sound Bank President and CEO Dan Yerrington said Sunday. “You really can’t say that about all banks; some pick and choose what they get into and don’t support the area.”

Yerrington added: “Everybody’s going to be wondering what kind of ‘citizens,’ so to speak, they (First Citizens) really are.”

The state Department of Financial Institutions and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. closed Venture Bank on Friday. It then was acquired by First-Citizens Bank & Trust Co. of Raleigh, N.C.

FDIC spokeswoman Linda Beavers said Sunday that the transition from Venture to First Citizens was going smoothly. By Saturday, a toll-free number set up by the FDIC to answer customer questions about Venture had received about 200 calls, she said. Other customers had questions answered by FDIC staff members at Venture Bank branches that were open Saturday. First Citizens banners have been draped over Venture Bank signs at its branches, Beavers said.

“Customers seemed satisfied with their new bank and (today) we open as business as usual at all the branches,” First Citizens spokeswoman Barbara Thompson said. She also said Arneson no longer is with the bank.

As for the status of Venture Financial Group Inc., the company that owned Venture Bank, she said she couldn’t say because First Citizens acquired only Venture Bank. She also had no information about Venture Financial Chairman Ken Parsons Sr. or how Venture stockholders might be affected by the bank sale.

Pat Rants, president and CEO of The Rants Group, a longtime commercial real estate company in Olympia, also said Venture Bank had been “very generous to a lot of organizations and causes” over the years. And if it wasn’t financial assistance, Venture’s employees sat on boards and volunteered in the community, he said.

Parsons is the chairman of the board of trustees at Saint Martin’s University, Arneson is on the board at the Thurston County Chamber of Commerce, and Joseph Beaulieu, vice president of marketing at Venture, is the board president for the Thurston County Economic Development Council. It was not clear Sunday whether they would continue to serve in those roles.

Rants, who also serves on the Saint Martin’s board, said Parsons continues to serve as chairman. Rants described him as a “great leader who was instrumental in bringing President Roy Heynderickx into the university.”

United Way of Lewis County Executive Director Debbie Campbell acknowledged that Venture Bank was a large donor to the organization and added that she hopes First Citizens soon will be involved in the community. At the United Way of Thurston County, Executive Director Pam Toal said her organization did not have a strong relationship with Venture Bank.

“They were not a real close partner with us,” she said.

Yerrington, a longtime South Sound banker, added that when Venture Bank closed, it felt like “a death in the family.” Rants, too, said he was saddened by the news.

“I know a lot of people who work at Venture Bank,” he said. “Hopefully they will be OK, but it is a time of uncertainty.”

Rolf Boone: 360-754-5403

rboone@theolympian.com