Banner Corp., the Walla Walla, Wash.-based parent of Banner Bank, plans to open a commercial lending center here in January.


Banner has leased about 3,500 square feet of office space for the new center on the second floor of the Riverpoint One Building, near downtown.


Kirk Quillin, a Banner senior vice president here who will oversee the commercial-lending center, says the Spokane office will employ about 10 people initially and as many as 15 by the end of 2003.


The bank already has hired eight people for the operation. They currently are working out of temporary office space in the Northtown Office Building, at 4407 N. Division, where Banner Bank operates its North Side branch.


The commercial-lending center will offer a variety of business-banking services. Those services also will continue to be available at Banner Bank branches.


The commercial-lending center here will be Banners third such operationthe other two are in Bellevue, Wash., and Lake Oswego, Ore.


Currently, Banner operates 42 bank branches in Washington, Idaho, and Oregon. In addition to the North Side branch, it operates a branch at 12209 E. Mission, in the Spokane Valley.