7 minute read
New Boise office brings deep Idaho ties to market
BY JOHN STEARNS
Heritage Bank might be new to Idaho, but its people are not.
“I think where we differentiate ourselves is we didn’t bring new employees to the market,” said Mike Trueba, a lifelong Idahoan who heads the Boise office that Heritage opened in January 2023. “We took employees from the market that have deep ties to this community… and our institution really does have a legacy connection to Idaho.”
Notably, that includes Brian Vance, chairman of the bank’s parent company, Heritage Financial Corporation and former CEO of the bank. Before joining Olympia-based Heritage in 1996 as its executive vice president and chief credit officer, he worked 24 years with West One Bank, which had offices in Idaho, Utah, Oregon and Washington. Vance was born and raised in Idaho, went to high school in Homedale and had banking assignments in Idaho that included Parma, Idaho Falls and Nampa.
Vance started his banking career with Idaho First National Bank, the predecessor bank to West One, and whose co-founders in 1867 included C.W. Moore, a well-known Boise figure. Ironically, Heritage Bank’s Boise office is located in the C.W. Moore building at 250 S. 5th St., Suite 660.
Trueba, senior vice president-commercial banking team leader, is among five commercial and relationship banking officers in the Boise branch, four of whom are Idaho natives, and all are deeply involved in their communities. Trueba was profiled in the second quarter 2023 edition of this magazine.
Idaho connections like Vance’s are fun to share with customers, Trueba said.
“It definitely doesn’t discount the hard work of (current CEO) Jeff Deuel and our entire executive team really getting to know the market, getting to know the customers and spending the time to truly understand what differentiates this market,” Trueba said. “I can’t say anything but positive remarks about the way that our executive team has really approached this expansion into the market.”
That includes very thoughtful interest in what makes the Boise market unique, he said.
“Our executive team has done a marvelous job, in my opinion, of really trying to learn and understand and provide value to this market with Heritage Bank—and having Brian’s connection is just a nice feather in our cap,” Trueba said.
For his part, Vance has seen his career come full circle with Heritage’s new Idaho presence. When he joined Heritage 27 years ago, the bank’s operations were limited to the Olympia region. Heritage now operates in Oregon, Washington and Idaho.
“When I first started with Heritage in ’96, it was beyond my wildest dreams did I ever expect that Heritage Bank would be in Idaho,” Vance said.
Now it has an office in Boise, where Vance has numerous family members. He has Idaho property and visits the state often, “so Idaho is near and dear to me as my home state, but also where I spent half of my banking career.”
The Boise office has spread its wings throughout the area, tapping its staff’s market and industry connections and expertise to secure loans for clients across the spectrum of Idaho industry.
Recent deals include ones in agribusiness/agriculture, manufacturing, construction, professional services and nonprofits. The office is industry agnostic but excels in those sectors and in working with businesses that might be more complex in terms of multiple layers, generations and entities, Trueba said, adding the office also has worked with companies on succession planning, business transitions and evaluating employee stock ownership plans.
Deals the bank has financed include a new tire-shredding and recycling plant in Caldwell, just west of Boise. Another was an agribusiness client in the Magic Valley. The credit relationship addresses everything from farm equipment, to crops, to lines of credit. The client is also doing R&D on proprietary pest control using bacteria rather than chemicals.
Another deal that was finalized in October includes funding for a transportation logistics company doing an acquisition that will essentially double the size of the buyer, which is a longtime family-owned and -operated company.
Also in October, the office was working on finalizing an operating line of credit for a construction supply provider of specialty lumber.
Trueba said it’s fascinating getting to know clients and their businesses, some of whom the bankers have known for years through work or family.
Trueba’s commercial team comprises four other people, all senior vice presidents: Heath Gamboa, relationship banking officer-deposits; Jeff Jones, commercial banking officer; Justin Jantz, commercial banking officer; and Noel Thompson, commercial banking officer.
The Boise office includes a cashless retail branch, headed by Shannon Cadwell, assistant relationship banking officer. The office also does mortgages, home equity lines of credit, consumer loans, personal checking accounts and other services.
“Our focus is definitely on the commercial end, but we can provide those services to our business owners and clients as needed,” Trueba said. Others in the office include Kara
Aburusa, assistant vice president-senior credit analyst; Michael Bergey, vice president-senior finance officer; Dan Fisher, vice president-senior market analyst; Jason Hinde, senior vice president-senior credit officer; and Dani Neuman, loan production assistant.
Community involvement is important to the staff, too. Jantz is on the Boise State Athletic Association board; Jones is president of the Idaho Community Reinvestment Corp. and a coach for his son’s soccer team; Thompson is a volunteer with the Eagle Rodeo and on the athletic board of directors for Rocky Mountain High School; Gamboa is involved in the local Basque community and with the Basque Center in Boise and has also coached baseball; and Trueba is treasurer for the Idaho Community Reinvestment Corp., on the board and loan committee for Region IV Development and a coach for his daughter’s YMCA team. Trueba said it’s been a privilege working with and learning from what he considers the best commercial banking team in the Treasure and Magic valleys.
“The opportunity to work with such phenomenal professionals that truly have the interest of our clients and community in mind has been refreshing and pretty amazing,” he said.
“When you ask eight or nine people to jump off of the cliff with you and bring a new bank to market, it’s pretty humbling to have them go, especially the level and quality of the employees that we attracted,” Trueba said. “The fact that we were able to get the people we were is just very humbling for me as a leader, but then also I think speaks volumes to who Heritage Bank is and the leadership team that was able to help us make this all happen.”
Business In The Boise Metro Region By The Numbers
Major industries: food processing and agri-business, manufacturing, professional services, technology
Major employers: St. Luke’s Health System, Micron, Saint Alphonsus Health System, Albertson’s, J.R. Simplot Company, HP Inc.
Over 414,000 jobs
3rd largest metro area in the PNW In 2019, the Boise metro region grew nearly 250% faster than the national average
Source: bvep.org/doing-business-here/
About Our Boise Commercial Team
Combined banker experience: 96 years
Volunteer hours served in 2023: 97
Charitable giving in 2023: $10,450
Top nonprofits: Junior League of Boise, Fundsy, Special Olympics Idaho, Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce
CONTACT OR VISIT
250 South 5th Street Suite 660 Boise, ID 83702 986.210.1560
Open by appointment only. Call us to make an appointment or visit pages.services/heritagebanknw. com/boise-local to connect directly with a banker.
Back row: Dan Fisher, Jeff Jones, Justin Jantz, Dani Neuman, Mike Trueba, Noel Thompson, Michael Bergey. Front row: Shannon Cadwell, Heath Gamboa, Kara Aburusa.
