News/Press Room

Letter from the CEO

We are off to a strong start in 2010, with an optimistic view of the market and the opportunities in front of our bank.

We've added new commercial lenders to our team who have connected us to new business niches and their owners. Our Los Altos team, brought on board last year, continues to do a great job in underwriting and closing high-quality real-estate construction loans. In our branch offices, our private bankers and relationship managers continue to bring in loans and deposits through their networking and outreach efforts. At the end of the first quarter, our numbers continued to trend upwards. Our assets totaled $199.2 million, our deposits were $172.8 million and our loans were $112.4 million.

Most important, I believe, is that the support from our customers continues to grow, as they feel and experience the difference in the quality of service that Torrey Pines delivers. The result of this support can be seen in the increase in business referrals we are getting.

As the dissatisfaction with big banks continues around the country, and momentum builds for community banks like ours that bring measureable value to businesses and consumers, we have a remarkable opportunity for growth this year. I am convinced that with the team we have in place, we will successfully seize the moment and deliver a service and product unique to the market place.

Sedrick Tydus
President and CEO

Saving Money for Business Customers

One of the "differences" that business customers experience at Torrey Pines is the money they can save by using our business services, such as e-Deposit and our cash management tools, compared to those from a big bank.

"All banks recognize the significance of their customers' account activity information, but big banks price those activities as individual components and charge for every activity. Those individual prices really add up," explains Kristin Washington, cash management manager. "At Torrey Pines we don't do that. We only charge a monthly banking fee based on activity and volume - typically $25 a month - and reporting activity is complimentary."

For example, if a business customer of a big national bank wants to view the previous day's activity, that bank will typically charge a significant fee to give the customer access to those reports. If that customer has two different business accounts, each account and every activity is charged.

Under this scenario, if the customer had a business operating account and a payroll account, s/he would pay about $250 per month for accessing activity on both. That fee includes the access fee for both that totals $210 and then payment of $.17 per item. Additionally, if the customer initiated wires on one of the accounts s/he would incur another $40 fee, with a per item fee of $1.

"At Torrey Pines we offer balance reporting, and for a flat fee of $25 a month our customers get account access, activity and wire details," said Kristine. "We know that information is valuable, but we value our business relationships more, so we price our services accordingly."

Building Our Brand

What's in a brand and why is it important? A strong brand helps businesses grow consistently and quickly, engages customer loyalty and contributes to a healthy bottom line. But it takes work to build and maintain a brand's strength. At Torrey Pines Bank, our brand encompasses our mission to deliver high-touch, unsurpassed service to our customers. It's all about the customer!

"Underlying our mission are the facts that we are a financially sound institution offering strong customer relationship management, quick answers and smart solutions, and we support community prosperity," says CEO Sedrick Tydus. "We communicate these attributes through our brand identity- our corporate logo, our trademarked tag line (Expect the Best. Experience the Difference.) and the ways in which we present ourselves, both visually and verbally, to the public," he explains.

"Everything counts when you focus on maintaining a strong brand," says Tydus. "From our advertising and marketing materials to the way we greet customers on the phone, to how we dress and how we handle customer relationships makes a difference in how people perceive and respond to us," he says.

"In 2006 we rolled out our brand and now we are focusing on strengthening it," he explains. "We are developing new marketing and collateral materials, established standards and training for written and verbal communications, and are distributing wall posters and desk items for each of our staff."

What does all this mean? "We believe this renewed focus on our brand will bring measurable results to our business growth potential, and we are all excited about the possibilities," says Sedrick.

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