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Additional information |
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United Bank of Michigan |
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Overview:
United Bank got its start back in 1887 as the Wayland Exchange Bank. Over the years, we’ve opened branches across West Michigan and added a mortgage corporation, investment center, even a full-service insurance agency. Our close ties with individual customers and partnerships with the communities we serve have been the key to our success, allowing us to steadily expand in size and significantly broaden our portfolio of financial products and services. Yet we’ve held tightly to the hometown values and neighborly feel that make us unique.
We are still a true West Michigan bank, locally owned and operated and completely focused on serving the banking needs of this area. Which sets us apart from our many out-of-state competitors who merely have branches here.
Our attitude and environment are different, too. People say that we’re just a lot friendlier and less stuffy than most banks tend to be. You can always feel comfortable here. And you can count on getting the right products and services to meet your individual financial needs. All of which are very good reasons to bank with United, indeed. |
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Vision:
Growth and profitability through superior customer service provided by outstanding banking professionals are the keys to fulfilling our mission. In order for United Bank to prosper and endure, we must create long-term value or benefits for each of these Stakeholders:
Our customers and the communities we serve
Our employees, including the management team and staff associates
Our investor stakeholders
The value or benefits created for each of these groups may take different forms and be measured by different standards. However, since each of these groups is mutually interdependent, our success in fulfilling the needs of each group will determine our success in creating the desired value or benefits for all. |
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History:
The first bank in Wayland, known as The Wayland Exchange Bank, was opened in 1887 by Ensign W. Pickett. It was a private bank, located in the Pickett Brothers’ General Store, and was a success from the very beginning.
In 1903, Mr. Pickett thought it was best to incorporate under state law. The bank’s stock was quickly subscribed, and on January 1, 1904, it opened for business as The Wayland State Bank, with capital of $20,000. Among the stockholders were Dr. E.O. Hanlon, V.S. Fish, C.H. Brush, John Frohm, H.J. Turner, E.W. Ryno and E.W. Pickett. President of the bank was Dr. E.O. Hanlon, vice president C.H. Brush, cashier E.W. Pickett and assistant cashier J.A. Turner.
The Wayland State Bank weathered storms brought on by the stock market crash and the bank crises of the 1930s. By 1940, assets had grown to $500,000, and a young man named Arthur H. Johnson came to Wayland as a cashier at the bank. An experienced banker, he brought the bank a new level of management expertise and a desire to expand into other communities. By 1955, the bank had expanded into nearby Hopkins. In the 1960s a new branch was opened in Dorr, and the Farmer’s State Bank of Alto was acquired, including the former Edwin Nash State Bank office in Clarksville.
By 1972, Johnson had been joined in the business by his son, Arthur C. Johnson, and daughter, Bonnie K. Miller. In 1977, the bank’s assets stood at $34 million, and although it still served agricultural communities, there was a definite need to provide banking services to the suburban communities around Grand Rapids. The decade of the 1980s brought rapid growth and succession of changes to the bank. In January 1980, a branch was opened in Gun Lake and the bank changed its name to United Community Bank, forming a holding corporation called United Community Financial Corporation. In 1983, the bank opened its first office in Grand Rapids and changed its name to United Bank of Michigan.
As other Grand Rapids offices were opened, bank management realized that there was a growing segment of smaller, entrepreneurial companies which needed the technological services available from megabanks, but who valued the personal touch available from a smaller, “people-oriented” bank. To meet this need, United Bank focused on gaining experience in U.S. Small Business Administration lending. By the end of the 1980s, United Bank had successfully entered the Grand Rapids market and established itself as an “SBA Preferred Lender.” This success has been followed in the 1990s with the opening of several more Grand Rapids and suburban offices, and the renovation of a new Corporate Headquarters building on East Paris Avenue at Cascade Road.
Today, Arthur C. Johnson is Chairman and CEO of the bank and Michael Manica is President and COO. Still closely held, the bank now has assets of nearly $450 million and has carved out a position for itself as a leading small business lender. United Bank also remains deeply committed to the thousands of households and many communities it serves – including the one where it got its start. We have come a long way from our beginnings as a small-town bank, but all of our success stems from meeting the needs of our customers. |
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Toll Free:
+1 800 968 1990 |
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