First Foundation Bank is headquartered in Irvine and is the 21st largest bank in the state of California. It is also the 202nd largest bank in the nation. It was established in 2007 and as of March of 2021, it had grown to 450 employees at 21 locations. First Foundation Bank has an A health rating.
Related Posts
1/8 - Rate Drop - First Foundation Online Savings - 0.75% To 0.60%
10/20 - Rate Drop To 0.75% 10/20/20
8/7 - First Foundation Dropping To 1.00% Today
6/19 - Rate Drop To 1.20%
6/4 - Rate Drop To 1.45%
5/21 - Current Rate Leader First Foundation Savings Drops To 1.60% APY
5/10 - Updated Minimum Balance Required To Earn Stated APY From $1000 To $.01
3/25 - Rate Drop To 1.735% - 3/24/20
3/6 - Grandfathered 2.20% APY Accounts Down To 2.00% Effective Today March 6, 2020
2/5 - First Foundation Bank Online Savings APY Remains Competitive
Friendly & Helpful Customer Service
I opened a savings account here for the 2.00% instead of the 0.05% offered by my previous bank. I called customer service to have them walk me through opening the account and the person I spoke to was really nice and helpful. I had a particularly positive experience this week and wanted to share. Excited to actually earn something on my savings.
A Fine Bank
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.
Cumbersome To Do Business
I opened an online savings account because they offer a competitive rate and have a physical branch in case I need it. The application process is lengthy which should have been a red flag but i thought they were just being conservative for my security.
First unpleasant surprise - $5k/day limit on online check deposit, $10k/day on online ACH deposit transfers. I wanted to deposit $50k, so this would require multiple transactions, multiple days!
2nd surprise - scheduled future transfers do not appear on my account's scheduled transfers page! Good thing I've not deleted the confirmation emails for 2 of them. The others, now I just have to rely on my memory. Oh and there's no menu for canceling or changing transfer date once it's scheduled.
I haven't tried to withdraw funds -
3rd, I wanted to open another account and thought there would be a streamlined process since they've already verified my identity and have my drivers license on file. But no, I would have to go through the same lengthy and cumbersome new account opening process. So I decided not to open one and just keep my funds elsewhere.
One good thing, their email responses are very quick albeit no solution to problems.
Thinking of closing my account now. Their higher rates not worth the hassle of doing business with them.
Pleasantly Surprised
Opened a First Foundation account back in January after reading the reviews and seeing the great rate they were offering on the online savings. So far my experience has been really good. The application process was pretty standard with the usual background check questions. Enrolling in online banking and the mobile app are easy as well. I like that they have the facial recognition and credit score tracker in the app and it has everything else I need like mobile deposit and my transaction history. It’s nice you can do mobile deposit to the savings account unlike other accounts such as Marcus.
After reading a few of the negative reviews on the transfer limits I was a bit nervous. However after talking to a really nice customer service rep I was told although the initial limit is $10,000 per day, after I had done a transfer and they were comfortable with my account I could transfer up to $20,000 a day without needing an exception. I already linked my other checking account and the process has been smooth so far. Compared to other online accounts I had: CIT, HSBC, Marcus – I like First Foundation’s customer service best. I always get through to an actual bank employee in a couple of minutes and they are very knowledgeable and friendly. I live in CA so I also like the added benefit of being able to go to a full service branch if needed. I’m also going to look into the ATM card with the fee reimbursement since that sounds really convenient. Hope this helps anyone considering the bank.
Data as of Q1 2021
Learn why bank health mattersHealth Grade Components
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| FDIC Certificate # | 58647 |
| Year Established | 2007 |
| Employees | 450 |
| Primary Regulator | FDIC |
| Profit Margin | |
|---|---|
| Return on Assets - YTD | 1.25% |
| Return on Equity - YTD | 12.43% |
| Annual Interest Income | $61.7MM |
| Assets and Liabilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Assets | Q1 2021vs Q1 2020 | $7.04B$6.50B |
| Loans | Q1 2021vs Q1 2020 | $5.61B$5.30B |
| Deposits | Q1 2021vs Q1 2020 | $6.27B$5.04B |
| Equity Capital | Q1 2021vs Q1 2020 | $713.5MM$625.9MM |
| Loan Loss Allowance | Q1 2021vs Q1 2020 | $23.2MM$23.0MM |
| Unbacked Noncurrent Loans | Q1 2021vs Q1 2020 | $17.9MM$10.6MM |
| Real Estate Owned | Q1 2021vs Q1 2020 | $0$0 |
