The History of Mechanics Bank

It’s quite a story: one man earning the trust of his neighbors and building the commitment he felt for his community into a bank. Then, through this bank, helping businesses, individuals, and the surrounding region grow and prosper. Now, four generations later, Mechanics Bank remains committed to developing long-term relationships as a trusted financial partner. This founding philosophy defines what Mechanics Bank is and what it will always be.

The bank’s commitment began in the early 20th century, a time when banks were few and far between. Railroad workers in Contra Costa County had no place to cash their paychecks until E.M. Downer changed all that.

As the railroad station agent in Pinole, E.M. Downer had a safe at the station. The railroad workers trusted him with their paychecks. As a service, he would make the dangerous daylong trek to Martinez to cash their checks and return with gold they could spend. Through this service, Mr. Downer became a trusted financial partner to many. He built upon that trust to open a bank, beginning a family tradition of serving local communities that has lasted more than 100 years.

Taking care of clients means staying right in step with their needs. That’s why, in the 1920s Mechanics Bank pioneered personal loans. It’s also the reason why throughout the Great Depression, when some 9,000 U.S. banks failed, the bank was able to remain solvent and to work to assist the people of the community who had fallen on difficult times.

The 1940s were a remarkable time of growth in the bank’s history, as Richmond, California became an industrial centerpiece of the war effort. Bankers from Mechanics Bank would go down to the shipyards or the Standard Oil long wharf on Saturday mornings to cash workers’ paychecks as they came off their shifts or tankers. The bank made thousands of personal loans to local workers.

In 1945, the end of the war left tens of thousands of shipyard workers out of jobs. As it had during the Great Depression, Mechanics Bank worked with those who had lost their jobs, helping them to avoid foreclosure on their homes.

Putting the client’s needs first led to many innovations during the following decades. As popularity of the automobile increased in the late 1940s, Mechanics Bank introduced drive-through banking, a first for Northern California. In the 1960s, it was ahead of the curve in converting its bookkeeping system to electronic data processing. This technological leap forward paved the way for faster, more accurate financial records.

Also during the 1960s, the bank established a full-service Trust Department, adding the ability to manage clients’ investments and assets. And, it even introduced around-the clock banking in 1978 by installing some of the area’s first Automated Teller Machines (ATMs).

In 1987, Mechanics Bank consolidated all operations into a new, larger, central facility in Hercules, signaling a major commitment to paving the way for technological expansion. The 1990s launched a series of technological advancements for customers’ convenience through online phone banking, supermarket branch locations, cash management services and, of course, online banking. These and other innovative efforts further deepened client relationships.

During the 1990s, Mechanics Bank expanded geographically beyond West Contra Costa County for the first time with the opening of retail, corporate and trust offices in Walnut Creek, Oakland, Marin, the Napa Valley, San Francisco and the Sacramento region. All of this contributed to it reaching $1 billion in assets in 1996 and then $2 billion in assets just six short years later, in 2002. The bank is on the brink of reaching $3 billion some time in 2010.

The bank’s mission as a community institution continues to evolve. In late 2005, the Downtown Berkeley Office became the first bank in California to be Green Business Certified by meeting stringent guidelines in pollution prevention, solid waste reduction, energy conservation and water conservation. Mechanics Bank now has over 20 other locations that are currently green certified, and is working toward achieving such certification at all locations. It is continually listed among the top 50 corporate philanthropists each year and also has been recognized as one of the Top Ten Best Places to Work.

The Downer family’s continued stewardship has helped maintain the bank’s stability and commitment to the values and culture that have defined it. E.M. Downer III became president of the bank in 1971, and then moved into the chairmanship of the board in 1981, a post he held until May of 2010. Now, the reins have passed to the fourth generation, with Dianne Daiss (“D.D.”) Felton becoming chairman and E. Michael Downer vice chairman. (Mr. Downer has moved to the role of Chairman Emeritus.)

What’s ahead? The Mechanics Bank story will continue to unfold as part of the fabric of Northern California with the same recurring themes: commitment to independence, to clients’ financial security and to building prosperous communities as a trusted financial partner. While continuously working to provide better technology tools for clients and employees the bank also recognizes the importance of balancing technology with the human element, because the quality and caliber of its people is its greatest strength.

One philosophy has remained the cornerstone of the way Mechanics Bank does business: Take care of the employees, and the employees will take care of the clients and the clients will take care of the shareholders. Such genuine commitment enables prosperous communities.

For all the innovative and technological advances, the thing that really matters is a banker you can rely on.

Press Contacts

Ms. Hatti Hamlin
925.872.4328
HattiHamlin@comcast.net

Mr. David Louis
510.741.3328
David_Louis@mechanicsbank.com