The 5,100-square-foot space at 300 32nd St., on the corner of Pacific Avenue. (Google Maps)
A Richmond bank’s hunt for new revenue has taken it to the edge of the Atlantic Coast.
Downtown-based Union Bank & Trust has a new branch in the works in Virginia Beach, two blocks from the oceanfront.
The bank, which at $8.1 billion in total assets makes it the largest Virginia-based community bank, is looking to take over a 5,100-square-foot space at 300 32nd St. at the corner of Pacific Avenue.
The move would put Union in Virginia Beach’s Laskin Road corridor, a drag that has long been a spot where banks flock for visibility.
“Everybody wants an ocean view,” said Union spokesman Bill Cimino.
The new outpost will help Union build its presence on the Hampton Roads region’s Southside. It has four branches on the Peninsula, but only one in Virginia Beach as a result of its acquisition of StellarOne Bank.
Cimino said Union has a commercial loan team on the ground on the Southside and has seen some success.
“For us it’s a market where we feel there’s growth opportunity,” Cimino said. “We’ve been seeing a lot of good loan growth there, so we decided to expand the deposit and retail side of the house.”
Union is headquartered downtown at 1051 E. Cary St.
Cimino said Union sees an opening on the Southside given a recent wave of consolidation that’s shrunk the list of community banks doing business in that market. Recent deals swept up longtime players Monarch Bank, Heritage Bank and Bank of Hampton Roads, leaving TowneBank as the only major player among community banks.
That consolidation also gave Union the physical opening it was looking for. The branch it is occupying in Virginia Beach was most recently occupied by Monarch Bank, which left the location as part of its deal to be acquired by TowneBank.
Between its five current branches on both sides of Hampton Roads, Union has $158 million in deposits, according to FDIC figures. That accounts for less than 1 percent of the entire market’s $22.8 billion in deposits, leaving plenty of room for growth, Cimino said.
“We feel there’s room to expand in the whole Hampton Roads area,” he said.
Union will look to open the 32nd Street branch in the first quarter, pending regulatory approval.
The move comes in the midst of a leadership change at the bank. Last month it announced longtime CEO Billy Beale will retire from that post at the end of the year and will be replaced by John Asbury, a Virginia Tech and William & Mary graduate who most recently led a bank in New Mexico.
The 5,100-square-foot space at 300 32nd St., on the corner of Pacific Avenue. (Google Maps)
A Richmond bank’s hunt for new revenue has taken it to the edge of the Atlantic Coast.
Downtown-based Union Bank & Trust has a new branch in the works in Virginia Beach, two blocks from the oceanfront.
The bank, which at $8.1 billion in total assets makes it the largest Virginia-based community bank, is looking to take over a 5,100-square-foot space at 300 32nd St. at the corner of Pacific Avenue.
The move would put Union in Virginia Beach’s Laskin Road corridor, a drag that has long been a spot where banks flock for visibility.
“Everybody wants an ocean view,” said Union spokesman Bill Cimino.
The new outpost will help Union build its presence on the Hampton Roads region’s Southside. It has four branches on the Peninsula, but only one in Virginia Beach as a result of its acquisition of StellarOne Bank.
Cimino said Union has a commercial loan team on the ground on the Southside and has seen some success.
“For us it’s a market where we feel there’s growth opportunity,” Cimino said. “We’ve been seeing a lot of good loan growth there, so we decided to expand the deposit and retail side of the house.”
Union is headquartered downtown at 1051 E. Cary St.
Cimino said Union sees an opening on the Southside given a recent wave of consolidation that’s shrunk the list of community banks doing business in that market. Recent deals swept up longtime players Monarch Bank, Heritage Bank and Bank of Hampton Roads, leaving TowneBank as the only major player among community banks.
That consolidation also gave Union the physical opening it was looking for. The branch it is occupying in Virginia Beach was most recently occupied by Monarch Bank, which left the location as part of its deal to be acquired by TowneBank.
Between its five current branches on both sides of Hampton Roads, Union has $158 million in deposits, according to FDIC figures. That accounts for less than 1 percent of the entire market’s $22.8 billion in deposits, leaving plenty of room for growth, Cimino said.
“We feel there’s room to expand in the whole Hampton Roads area,” he said.
Union will look to open the 32nd Street branch in the first quarter, pending regulatory approval.
The move comes in the midst of a leadership change at the bank. Last month it announced longtime CEO Billy Beale will retire from that post at the end of the year and will be replaced by John Asbury, a Virginia Tech and William & Mary graduate who most recently led a bank in New Mexico.