Umpqua Bank

Over the past few years I have opened two deposit products and a personal credit line with bankers at the 1 SW Columbia branch. Each visit to the branch I have been thoroughly pleased with the professionalism, swift service and kindness from the bankers. Umpqua Bank is growing up and making a big effort to be a comfortable modern bank with a strong focus on personal relationships. I continue to utilize deposit and credit products at mega banks, but I do give Umpqua’s 1 SW Columbia branch 5 stars for outstanding performance and a stellar branch visit experience. Their newest checking account, «Embark Checking» has no monthly fee with electronic statements and NO balance requirements (expect the $ 25 opening). Yay! Plus, the design and marketing of Umpqua Bank is very Oregon, with a splash of modern and hip. I like that! :)

Refinanced my primary residence. It took six months. Every time I called or emailed to ask why it was taking so long, it would be 1 – 2 weeks before I heard back. That was 2 – 3 years ago. I just bought another property for investment. Decided to give Umpqua a second chance. Big mistake. From the start, I told the loan officer (Bellevue, WA office) that I planned to put the property on a limited liability company. She told me I had to get a personal loan, then transfer title AFTER. Two weeks after closing when I asked the bank for what I need from them to do the transfer, I find out I cannot. If I do, the bank can accelerate the loan and make the entire amount due in 30 days.

Undisclosed changes in rate and appraisal fees. By the time I was aware of the changes they had raised the rate and at closing they had an extra $ 150 in the appraisal.

Umpqua bought my local bank in 2004 and I have been with them ever since. They have the basics down, but lack the benefits of a big corporate bank or a local bank/​credit union. My location (that they took over) has most of the original employees still. They take care of business and go the extra mile to help out. They even called to warn me when I was going to overdraw! They, not the bank, have kept me from switching.
Other locations can be problamatic and I dread leaving the mother ship.
Umpqua has the style (coffee, hip music & graphics) but not the substance (locations when you travel, dropping fees & the big lending power). I wish that they had the best of a big & small banks but they actually have the worst of both.
Another issue is that the tellers they hire can come across as obnoxious and phony. I get the feeling that they are sweet and encouraged to be folksy but don’t have the permission or training to solve problems that arise. I feel like I always get stuck with the serious 22 year old in his suit. He is self important but can’t fix the issue at hand. The phone help is the opposite– long waits and impersonal service.
Because Umpqua ends up being inconvenient I think the way to go is either a local credit union that actually IS invested in the community (Alibina, OnPoint, Riverside) or go big & evil for the convenience. Umpqua is the unhappy middle ground.

On the advice of my realtor, Nancy Strening with Suzanne Clark Group, I contacted Chris Bryson with Umpqua for a mortgage. Chris was very professional but more important, she got my mortgage done and the property closed in record time. And she was a delight to work with. Never thought I’d say that about a financial transaction experience! Between Chris and SCG I wouldn’t buy or sell with anyone else.

Bottom Line — The feel of this bank is generally how WaMu branches felt like in the late 1990s… fun, energetic and employees eager to please; however, in this day and age, there are a couple missing services that Umpqua does not offer. Read on for more info. This bank acts more like a credit union in its customer service than other commercial banks (such as Chase or US Bank), so it’s a good option if you’re looking to leave the typical large bank. I’d say the competitors are: First Tech Federal Credit Union, BECU and other community banks.
Re-​financing Mortgages
I refinanced my mortgage with Umpqua, as their rates are generally competitive (though First Tech Federal Credit Union has slightly better rates). The $ 500 mortgage benefit was a huge draw, as well. The refinance process was generally pretty smooth, and pretty much everything can be done electronically, as you log-​in to a secure site to view/​e-​sign disclosures and stuff (like initial application, initial and subsequent GFEs, initial TIL), and you can upload documents (such as income, bank statements) there, too.
Deposit Products
Prosper Checking — In order to get a $ 500 mortgage benefit, I had to open a prosper checking account, which has a $ 20 monthly fee if you don’t maintain an average daily balance of $ 10k. You can downgrade the account at any time, so I plan to change it to the Thrive checking account after my mortgage closes.
Thrive Checking — pays 1.5% interest as long as you make 15 debit card purchases (PIN or signature-​based) each month. There’s a monthly fee of $ 15 for this account, but that can be waived if you have a $ 2,500 monthly average in the account. The Thrive account also allows for up to $ 15 in ATM fee reimbursements (charged by other bank as well as Umpqua).
Services Umpqua Does NOT Offer:
(1) Lack of External Account Transfers via ACH to/​from other financial institutions. All of my other financial institutions offer this, from Chase, BECU, TDAmeritrade, and even my smaller credit union located on the east coast. Umpqua does allow you to initially fund your deposit account via ACH, but it’s not an option to do recurring or on-​demand transfers in this way… totally annoying, and I’m deducting 1 star for this.
(2) Remote Deposit/​Mobile Capture isn’t even an option in their mobile banking apps… SUCKY!!! I’m deducting 1 star for lack of this service, but hopefully they’re looking at implementing this.
(3) Modern ATMs… It appears that Umpqua’s ATMs do not include check scanning and cash counting capabilities for deposits. In addition, deposits made at Umpqua ATMs are not immediately credited to the account; looks like they are still manually processing ATM deposits. What is this, 1999!!!
(4) Debit cards are not equipped with EMV chips, which makes them useless at many automated or unattended kiosks in Europe… just try buying a train ticket at Amsterdam’s Schiphol station… you have to wait in line for agent assistance with all the other Americans who don’t have chip cards. Visits to Paris will also mean you aren’t able to rent Velib bicycles to get around town :(I assume this will change in 2014 when the transaction liability shifts… but I just wish more financial institutions would be more proactive. I get around this by specifically having a credit card that has an EMV chip (& PIN) in it…
and
are your friends in this case.

The manager here was kind of a ding dong. Where’s the can do attitude? Mr. No-​go can’t do it. Can’t say I’ll ever bank there or recommend them.