For almost 60 years, American Marine Bank has been serving the people of Bainbridge Island and Kitsap County. Our community has always been important to the bank. Here's a little history on how we started, and where we are today.

September 17, 1948 we opened for business. Bainbridge Island residents (all 6000 of them) finally had a bank of their own. For Louis Goller, founder and our first President, it was the culmination of a dream accomplished with the help of a group of local businessmen.

This was the last year before Bainbridge Island was connected to the peninsula by the Agate Pass Bridge. Islanders were still completely dependent on ferry travel, but with the local bank (then named Bainbridge Island Bank), it was no longer necessary to cash checks at the Thriftway market or hardware store.

In remodeling the bank, we decide to say goodbye to the pot-bellied stove.

Carl Berg is named to succeed Walter Keys as Director.

After ten years in business, our deposits are up to $2,544,000.

Bainbridge Island Bank is the first to contract for computer bookkeeping by our correspondent bank, Peoples National Bank of Seattle. Staff is 16. Deposits are $4,626,350.

Comments from our bank's Annual Report are included in the editorial of the American Banker, banking's daily newspaper, alongside remarks about New York's Irving Trust.

We open our first branch at the Village, with Terrie Takemoto Sua as Manager. Terri is the first woman bank office manager in the state.

With the addition of regional branches off Bainbridge Island, we change our name from Bainbridge Island Bank to American Marine Bank.

We open our newly remodeled Main Office in Winslow, which includes the first resident Trust Department in Kitsap County.

We add a new Data Processing Center to the Main Office, including large computer equipment brought in on a crane through second-floor windows.

Seven of our westside branches are sold to SeaFirst Bank.

Louis Goller retires as President after forty years, and Bess Alpaugh is appointed the new President. We picked up our original little Village office, and moved it up the street on High School Road.

Rex Townsend joins the bank as an Assistant Vice President, hired to manage the Real Estate Loan Department.

The bank's President, Bess Alpaugh, adds CEO to her duties.

We opened our Poulsbo branch inside Central Market in 1995 and added telephone banking.

Bess Alpaugh is named Chairman of the Board for the bank.

Rex Townsend is named President/CEO of the bank, and we launch our Internet banking system.

Our office in Jefferson County opens in Port Ludlow in January. Silverdale State Bank becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of the holding company, as does Community Trust Company.

The year 2000 began with the grand opening of our new American Marine Bank office in Port Ludlow, Jefferson County. We also expanded into Silverdale when Silverdale State Bank became a subsidiary of AMB Financial Services Corporation in April of 2000. Deposits experienced strong growth at $183,811,000 by year-end, an 18% increase from the previous year.

2001 brought continued growth for American Marine Bank. With a very low interest rate environment and relatively strong home sales, the Community Mortgage Company increased 2001 net earnings by 33% over 2000, originating over $133 million in mortgage loans in 2001. In October of 2001, Silverdale State Bank became American Marine Bank dba Silverdale Bank and its Information Systems activities were combined with those of American Marine Bank. 2001 also marks the year that a new bill pay system was released to customers.

A remodel and addition began early in 2002 and continues through 2003 with plans to significantly update and improve the American Marine Bank flagship office as well as provide a beautiful new anchor for downtown Bainbridge Island. Deposits grew to $244,968,000 at the end of 2003.

2004 brought new spaces at 4 American Marine Bank locations. The newly remodeled and expanded home office in Bainbridge opened in April to rave reviews. In June, American Marine Bank returned to the Kingston market in a temporary building on Lindvog Road while construction began on the bank's permanent building, completed in 2005. The downtown Seattle office completed its move to a newer and larger location in the same building. Also new, the Business Loan Center on Highway 305 NE in Poulsbo was the second AMB office to offer customers a dedicated location for loans.

In August of 2004, American Marine Bank announced its plan to partner with Safeway to open 4 new in-store locations. The new Safeway offices of American Marine Bank offer full service banking providing personal checking and savings products, loans, mortgages, trust & wealth management services and business banking products. By March of 2005, all 4 in-store offices were opened and operating in Sequim, Port Angeles, Belfair and Port Townsend bringing the number of branches to 11.

In July of 2005, the Kingston office construction was completed and the office celebrated its grand opening. The branch also houses the loan servicing & merchant credit card departments, with space for business bankers and real estate lenders.

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