By Fred Delkin

     When we interviewed Ray Davis, President and CEO of Umpqua Holdings Corp.last October, he declared his goal for what had just become Oregon's largest home-based bank "to be in markets from Seattle to Sacramento."  It looks like he's almost there with his firm's latest expansion to the Seattle market with a Bellevue site.  This follows closely on the heels of a merger announcement with northern California's Humboldt Bank.  Umpqua will now operate from 93 branch locations in three states, all to carry the Umpqua name and logo.

Umpqua began humbly just over 50 years ago with a location in the southern Oregon town of Canyonville.  A decade ago, Umpqua served southern Oregon with five branches.  Then, under the leadership of Davis, dramatic growth began.  Eugene-based Centennial Bank merged with 15 branches, most in the greater Portland area.

The Humboldt Bank group includes 28 branches with the largest communities being Redding, Red Bluff, Eureka, Chico and Napa.  Humboldt has expanded in the last decade with acquisitions of Capitol Valley, Tehama and Feather River banks. 

Umpqua's new Bellevue office opens as a loan facility which also offers the brokerage services of Strand Atkinson Williams & York, a subsidiary of Umpqua Holdings.  Additional western Washington locations are in the planning stage.

Despite its meteoric growth, Umpqua professes to base each site on a culture of community service.  Culture is a big word with CEO Davis, who declares "we don't rape and pillage when we take over an organization...people are absorbed into our culture."  That culture includes defining branches as "stores" with such amenities as lounge areas and free coffee service.

Expansion is the driving force in U.S. banking organizations, yet Umpqua, under Davis's tutelage, insists this will be done without losing a very local focus for each site. 

© 2004 Oregon Magazine