First Foundation Bank is headquartered in Irvine and is the 22nd largest bank in the state of California. It is also the 193rd largest bank in the nation. It was established in 2007 and as of June of 2019, it had grown to 423 employees at 21 locations. First Foundation Bank's savings rates are 4X the national average, and it has a B+ health rating.
Just opened an Online Savings at 2.00%. Process was pretty straight forward. Received approval a couple of days later with my account number. Although the transfer limits are lower than I have experienced in the past, I funded the account by sending money in via ACH from my previous bank so there weren't any limit issues. I had a question regarding the online mobile baking set up, and got through to a banker quickly. She was nice and I got my answer. Ill probably get a checking account too given the ATM fee reimbursement and the no limits on internal transfers.
First Foundation has the Integrity other banks do not. Other banks offer attractive rates for new money and at the first sign of lower market rates drop the yield. Customers Bank comes to mind. They were offering 2.40% and dropped it to 1.95% after getting the new depositors aboard. FF feels an obligation to the new money depositors to maintain the 2.40%. I like that a lot. I closed Customers, Vio, Popular, Western, Salem5, Webank, EastBoston, United, My Savings, IGO, Ally and others that suck in new money and drop the trap door on rates.
You'll like this bank.
Opened a joint account online with me and my wife. App asked some pretty standard out-of-wallet questions, and I also had to upload a picture of our ID's. Was easily able to move funds in via ACH from Capital One from both Capital One's system and First Foundation Bank's. I also called into their help line, and every one was super nice and helpful.
FF has grandfathered those of us at 2.4% without the hideous drop to 2% which new accountholders will receive. That gesture is noticed and appreciated. It nicely contrasts with Popular Direct, who within a matter of weeks lured customers in via bait and switch and then slashed rates 4 or 5 times. That gesture was also noticed but is not at all appreciated.
Overall | |
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FDIC Certificate # | 58647 |
Year Established | 2007 |
Employees | 423 |
Primary Regulator | FDIC |
Profit Margin | |
---|---|
Return on Assets - YTD | 0.82% |
Return on Equity - YTD | 8.69% |
Annual Interest Income | $125.6MM |
Assets and Liabilities | ||
---|---|---|
Assets | Q2 2019vs Q2 2018 | $6.27B$5.96B |
Loans | Q2 2019vs Q2 2018 | $5.23B$4.91B |
Deposits | Q2 2019vs Q2 2018 | $4.76B$4.65B |
Equity Capital | Q2 2019vs Q2 2018 | $593.9MM$539.1MM |
Loan Loss Allowance | Q2 2019vs Q2 2018 | $20.2MM$19.0MM |
Unbacked Noncurrent Loans | Q2 2019vs Q2 2018 | $15.0MM$11.8MM |
Real Estate Owned | Q2 2019vs Q2 2018 | $465.00K$3.0MM |
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* The APY shown varies based on the deposit amount. Expand the listing to see APYs for other deposit amounts.
APY | MIN | MAX | ACCOUNT NAME | VIEW DETAILS | |
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2.00%* | $1k* | - | Online Savings Account - New Money Only | ||
OTHER TIERS: 1.00% → Up to $1k |