SAN FRANCISCO & HAGATNA, Guam--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bank of Guam today announced the creation of a new operating unit, TASI Bank, that will serve its mainland United States customer base from the same 404 Montgomery Street branch that has been operating here since 1983.
David J. Joves, Bank of Guam (BOG) Senior Vice President/California Regional Manager, has been named Division President for TASI Bank. There will be no staff changes and the branch will continue to serve customers from the same location.
“This is an exciting day for all of us,” said Joves, a San Francisco native. “Over the years, we have successfully built the branch into one with more than $430 million in total assets while serving a diverse community of small and medium-sized businesses throughout Northern California.”
Bank of Guam, headquartered in Hagatna, Guam, was founded in 1972 by Jesus Sablan Leon Guerrero, a revered figure in the U.S. Trust Territory. Joaquin Cook currently serves as BOG’s President/CEO. “Our founder set out to create ‘the people’s bank’ that would represent the population of Guam and give us an actual ‘place at the table’ for our own financial future. That we have been able to maintain the culture and also expand to the mainland is a testament to his vision and the excellence of the service that we provide our customers,” he said.
TASI Bank, www.tasi.bank, will serve a wide-ranging customer base of companies in business sectors, including commercial real estate, franchised gasoline service stations, hospitality (hotels and motels), as well as independent retail and wholesale firms. In the past decade since Joves joined to lead the San Francisco operations, the Bank has grown from a total asset base of $35 million. Joves said TASI would also look at expansion opportunities along the West Coast, primarily in the Los Angeles and San Diego areas.
“As a Minority Deposit Institution (MDI), we provide SBA and other financial services to customers those larger, traditional banks often neglect,” said Joves, who joined the Bank a decade ago. “Our MDI status has served our customers well during the pandemic. We continued to have access to PPP funding while larger institutions no longer were able to participate.”
TASI Bank will provide a full suite of financial services at its branch with its digital banking options.
“What also distinguishes us is our commitment to finding ways to say ‘yes’ and to find lending and financing options for our customers,” Joves said. “Culturally and by training, our staff is oriented toward what we consider being ‘mavericks' in the financial services industry.
“While we are in a heavily regulated industry, we look for options and programs that are available but require going the proverbial ‘extra mile’ for customers. And we also recognize that some communities defined by ethnicity, race, or sexual orientation have not been fully appreciated or, in many cases, discriminated against. We strive to ensure that everyone has the same opportunity when they approach us,” he said.
The name TASI is derived from the Chamorro language and means “ocean.” The new logo, a wave, visually connects cultures spanning 6000 miles from Guam to San Francisco.
TASI Bank has also adopted ESG principles (Environmental, Social Equity, and Governance). “We were born because our founder faced discriminatory obstacles that prevented him as a Chamorro native of Guam to progress in the banking field,” said Cook. “So, he started his own bank, with financial backing from the people of Guam.”
The result: Bank of Guam, wholly-owned subsidiary of BankGuam Holding Company (OTC: BKGM) is now a publicly-traded financial institution with assets over $3 billion.
“We like to think of ourselves as the newest old bank around,” said Joves. “We may have changed our name, but we’re still the same people providing personal banking services to our customers.”
About TASI Bank
TASI Bank (www.tasi.bank), located in San Francisco’s Financial District, has served a broad community of business and commercial customers in the nine Bay Area counties since 1983. A maverick in community banking, the Bank builds value for its client base by being flexible and adaptive and providing the traditional services of a bank combined with online, fintech capabilities. A division of the Bank of Guam, TASI encourages its staff to create and provide innovative products and services that meet customer needs. It defines its own success by the level of success that customers achieve. As a Minority Depository Institution (MDI) and an SBA Preferred Lender, it has the regulatory flexibility and the expertise to say “yes” for customers who may have been denied at other institutions.
About Bank of Guam
Bank of Guam (www.bankofguam.com) was established nearly 50 years ago as The People’s Bank, becoming Guam’s first locally owned and chartered bank. Built on the vision of founder Jesus S. Leon Guerrero to be the driving force for prosperity in the communities it serves, the Bank’s work continues through its network of over 600 employees spanning 6000 miles and 16 branches across Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Marshall Islands, Yap, the Republic of Belau, and San Francisco.
