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Press Release
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Circle Bank will be Whole Foods neighbor in Noe Valley  By Andrew S. Ross Tuesday, September 29, 2009 - Banking on it: Based on the above, it seems that Noe Valley is indeed acquiring the "commercial and residential characteristics very similar to Marin County." So saying, Circle Bank CEO Kim Kaselionis decided she, too, should set up shop on 24th Street - next door to Whole Foods, in fact. Pending regulatory approval, the Novato-based community bank looks to open its first San Francisco branch early next year, said Kaselionis, on the same four-block stretch as Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Chase and real estate-oriented Sterling Bank & Trust. In addition to its full-service range, Kaselionis' bank intends to go one or two better, opening seven days a week, with a stroller corral and children's play area thrown in. Community banks have had a rough time of late, but Circle Bank, many of whose loan customers are San Francisco residents, has recorded 40 consecutive profitable quarters and is been ranked near the top in community bank surveys. Circle Bank also has the distinction of being a mother/daughter-run banking enterprise. Kaselionis' mother, Kit Cole, who founded Marin County's Tamalpais Bank in the 1990s - long before its recent troubles - is the CEO and chair of the bank's parent company, Circle Bancorp. |