First Foundation Bank is headquartered in Irvine and is the 17th largest bank in the state of California. It is also the 153rd largest bank in the nation. It was established in 2007 and as of March of 2022, it had grown to 632 employees at 29 locations. First Foundation Bank has an A+ health rating.
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6/18 - First Foundation Bank Online Savings Account Has Highest APY
6/17 - A 1.65% Savings Account At First Foundation Bank
6/17 - First Foundation Online Savings Increase To 1.65%
5/5 - First Foundation Bank Online Savings Account Is New Rate Leader
5/4 - First Foundation Raises Online Savings To 1.00%
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
High Rates, And Successful Interactions
FF's rate's been consistently higher than other banks. They went down after I opened, but so did everyone else and they were still higher. They've just raised to 1.65% when everyone else is at 1% or .7%. They're A or A+ rated.
The time I needed to add higher amounts (or was it remove?), I got a wire fee waver and it was done promptly.
I tried ACH at first but each limit doesn't open up until the last ACH has fully cleared, so it takes too long. I use my broker (who has high limits) to push pull larger amounts if needed, without problems.
The customer service is mixed. Some interactions go smoothly. Others not so well. The online messaging person isn't very good. Chat wasn't very clear either. Tone's are cheery though.
You need to ask for the new accounts dept.
Recently needed to deposit a large check. New accounts raised my mobile limit for the day.
Mostly my funds sit there and I do nothing, so it's worked well for me!
High Savings Rates. Difficult Application Process.
On line set up was not an easy process. First application was rejected because I scanned my driver license instead of taking a photo and uploading to them(they didn't let me know the reason my application was denied until I called). They won't let you scan your ID. So I submitted a second application and took an iPhone photo of my passport and sent to them by email and it was approved. However, there still was a delay in getting account set up so I called customer service. I left a call back number and they called back after about 3 hours later. Then they had a problem identifying my wife's SS number on the application. So I had to send them a photo of her SS card. Then they had a computer problem and had to call back. Finally, the problem was resolved and the account was set up.Their website is very easy to use.
Poor Customer Service
My savings account was compromised but there were no attempts to withdraw funds. It clearly wasn't First Foundation's fault, but no one bothered to contact me as to why my account had been locked. For more than a week, I made repeated calls to the customer service department. No one would get back with me. I finally resorted to calling the corporate office. That worked. At that point, it took weeks to get things resolved so I could withdraw my funds.
First Foundation's current interest rate is for "new money only." Translated, that means that existing customers will not see the increase in their savings account interest rate and that it's very unlikely that your "new money" will see future interest rate increases.
This Bank Is A Joke
1. During signup an optional beneficiary can be specified. When providing the beneficiary's information, there's an optional field for SSN (other fields are mandatory). I didn't provide an SSN. After submitting my application I received notice that my account application was denied and that the beneficiary's SSN is required. Their email said I needed to start from scratch and fill out a new application. However, after spending over an hour on the phone to get a hold of a customer service rep, I was able to get them to remove the beneficiary from my existing application and continue opening the account.
2. After my application was approved, I waited and waited for an email to complete initial funding, which involves verifying two deposits at another financial institution. Despite my account having been opened 4 days ago, no deposits have been made and I have not received any email in order to validate those deposits, despite First Foundation saying in other emails to me that they've already sent it. I emailed the bank asking about this email and how to validate my external account and have gotten no response after four days.
This bank is a joke. If it's this hard to open an account and fund it, I can only imagine how ridiculous it would be trying to deal with the bank in making large withdrawals or for other issues. Stay away unless you don't mind wasting your time dealing with incompetency.
Data as of Q1 2022
Learn why bank health mattersHealth Grade Components
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| FDIC Certificate # | 58647 |
| Year Established | 2007 |
| Employees | 632 |
| Primary Regulator | FDIC |
| Profit Margin | |
|---|---|
| Return on Assets - YTD | 1.21% |
| Return on Equity - YTD | 11.14% |
| Annual Interest Income | $81.2MM |
| Assets and Liabilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Assets | Q1 2022vs Q1 2021 | $10.45B$7.04B |
| Loans | Q1 2022vs Q1 2021 | $7.87B$5.61B |
| Deposits | Q1 2022vs Q1 2021 | $9.04B$6.27B |
| Equity Capital | Q1 2022vs Q1 2021 | $1.17B$713.5MM |
| Loan Loss Allowance | Q1 2022vs Q1 2021 | $32.8MM$23.2MM |
| Unbacked Noncurrent Loans | Q1 2022vs Q1 2021 | $10.8MM$17.9MM |
| Real Estate Owned | Q1 2022vs Q1 2021 | $6.2MM$0 |
