Spokane-based Sterling Bank says it plans to open new branches in Pullman and Portland, Ore., and to consolidate a branch with other services in Bellevue, Wash.

The bank will open its Pullman branch in early 2013, says Marty Dickinson, Sterling's executive vice president of marketing and communications.

"It will be the first time for Sterling to be in the Pullman area," Dickinson says.

The Pullman branch will occupy 2,300 square feet of leased space in the historic former train station building, also known as the Cougar Depot, at 225 N. Grand.

"We're excited to be in a building with some community significance," she says.

The branch will have four or five new employees, Dickinson says.

The new Portland branch will be located in a historic downtown building a few blocks west of the Morrison Bridge, which spans the Willamette River.

The branch will occupy 2,900 square feet of leased space and will have five new employees when it opens next fall or winter, Dickinson says.

Sterling Bank operates five other branches in the Portland-Vancouver area.

Sterling also plans to move its downtown Bellevue retail branch and consolidate it with its commercial and home-loan divisions there, she says. The bank's consolidated operations will occupy 6,000 square feet of leased space in a multi-tenant structure at 1000 N.E. Bellevue Way.

The Bellevue move, which is planned for next fall, isn't expected to result in the hiring of any additional employees immediately, Dickinson says.

In all, Sterling operates 189 retail branches in Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Oregon.