Bankcda, one of the smallest and youngest Inland Northwest-based community banks, expects to crest $100 million in assets this year, says Wes Veach, bankcda president and CEO.

As of March 31, the bank’s total assets had reached $96.8 million, up slightly from $96.6 million a year earlier.

The bank, which was founded in 2001, had flirted with the $100 million high-water mark when its assets peaked at $96 million before the recession tolled. By the close of 2012, however, the bank’s assets had plunged to $70.8 million.

Veach, a Pacific Northwest native who took the helm at bankcda in mid-2011, says the bank had to shrink its loan portfolio and dispose of foreclosed properties to stay upright following the recession.

Now, the bank is poised for growth, he says.

“I feel the bank is healthy and well capitalized,” he says. “We’re looking to make loans and looking to expand.”

Following the economic downturn, the bank returned to profitability last year, logging net income of $190,000 for 2014.

For the first quarter of this year, the bank reported a net loss of $51,000, compared with a net gain of $35,000 in the year-earlier quarter.

Veach attributes much of the loss to the bank’s disposal of its last foreclosed property, and says he expects strong improvement in the second quarter.

“One good-sized foreclosed property can wipe out a year’s worth of earnings,” he says.

As of last week, the bank had no foreclosed properties, Veach says.

The bank’s deposits totaled $87.1 million as of March 31, up from $86.9 million a year earlier. Its loans totaled $51.7 million, roughly even with the year-earlier loan total.

Bankcda, which has a total of 26 employees, recently hired two loan officers, Veach says.

“The loan portfolio is growing and the bank is returning to consistent profitability,” he says, of anticipated second-quarter results.

About 80 percent of loans issued by bankcda are commercial loans and commercial lines of credit, although the bank also offers its business clients a range of consumer loan products.

“When we get someone’s banking business, we want to take care of all of their banking needs,” Veach says.

The business environment is improving in the Coeur d’Alene area, he says.

“The volume of new business coming in and deals we’re working on really ticked up starting last June,” he says. “We’ve seen an uptick in financing for commercial construction and commercial buildings, and we’ve been getting calls for construction of $1 million homes.”

As business has picked up, commercial customers also have expanded their lines of credit and have sought financing for equipment, he says.

Such optimism is contagious, he says. 

“When people see signs go up for new construction and construction financing, they get excited about that,” he says.

Bankcda didn’t simply hunker down and wait out the recession.

In 2008, the bank moved its main branch to 912 Northwest Blvd., a building northwest of downtown Coeur d’Alene formerly occupied by now defunct Black Rock Development Inc.

Bankcda bought a former Bank of America branch site in Hayden last year and moved its Hayden branch there from leased quarters. In 2013, the bank also bought a former Bank of America branch site in Kellogg and opened its third branch there.

“The timing was right when Bank of America wanted to sell. Analyzing our customer base, I realized we had a fair amount of customers in the Silver Valley,” Veach says. 

Bankcda doesn’t have any pending announcements about additional branches, Veach says, adding however, that “we’re always looking for opportunities.”

He says branch sites have been growing more difficult for some banks to operate. Some larger banks have been closing branches because fewer people visit them.

“Banks like us are going the opposite way,” Veach says. “We have to have brick and mortar, because people want it.”

While bankcda offers the same online and mobile banking services as larger banks, it still delivers personalized services customers expect from a small community bank, he says.

Veach says the bank offers courier services and provides check-processing machines to make banking less of a chore for business customers.

“Everybody’s so busy, if they can make one thing easier, they’ll jump on it,” he says. “But if they want to come in and have a cup of coffee, we’re here.”

Before the advent of the Internet and access to online banking, it wasn’t unusual for a local bank to have a dozen tellers on duty, Veach says. Now, bankcda typically has three tellers working in the Coeur d’Alene branch and four tellers at the Hayden branch.

“We have more lobby traffic in Kellogg than we have in Hayden or Coeur d’Alene,” he adds.

Bank tellers today have to be versatile, Veach says.

“Customers don’t come to the bank for standard transactions,” he says. “They come when they have an issue or need a question answered. So, they expect employees to have that answer.”

Veach says bankcda’s customers typically are business professionals and people over 55 years old who desire relationship banking in addition to the convenience of electronic services.

“We know our customers,” he says. “Our big concern is the next generation.”

Veach says some younger people are only familiar with electronic banking. 

“If they never come to the bank, it’s harder to develop those relationships,” he says.

With a few Inland Northwest banks recently merging into larger regional banks, the culture within those banks is bound to change, Veach claims.

“Change causes people to be uneasy,” Veach says. “I think that creates opportunities for us. People in the markets we’re in appreciate that we’re local. We’re part of the community and we’re trying to make the community better.”