By Kim Grable

Have you noticed all the changes within our community lately? The recent change with First State Bank, located in Gunbarrel, 6685 Gunpark Drive, has not gone unnoticed.

About a month ago, the name was changed to FirsTier Bank. Branch President, Tom Chesney, said that since more and more branches were opening, the bookkeeping was becoming increasingly more difficult. In the past, the banks were referred to as First State Bank Boulder, First State Bank Greeley, etc. Tim Wein, the president and CEO of FirsTier, wanted to have more unity by having all of the banks maintain one name.

FirsTier is a family owned business. The headquarters is located in Northglenn at 11210 Huron. There are fifteen branches in Colorado.

Chesney states that FirsTier is a full service bank, meaning that they offer everything from safety deposit boxes, direct deposit, drive up windows and ATM access. Customers have access to off site ATM’s but there is a $1 fee per transaction. There are four member ATM’s located in Westminster, one in Aurora and one in Thornton. Customers always have the option to use their local ATM at their closest FirsTier location at no charge.

There is a minimum balance of $100 required to open a basic checking or savings account and a balance of at least $1 needs to be maintained to keep the account open. No minimums apply for children’s accounts. Other fees may be applied for services such as faxing statements, lock bags, money orders, and travelers cheques.

Once an account is opened there are a variety of options offered. Customers may choose to receive their checks back or have a photo copy of their checks sent with a paper statement. If a customer chooses to receive a photo copy instead of their original check, no charge applies. There is a charge for returned checks, but it can vary depending on how many checks have been written. FirsTier is not considering eliminating paper statements.

FirsTier offers a full range of loans such as personal, business, real estate, land development, etc. The loan officers in the branch have the lending authority for specific amounts. Requests for higher amounts go to a committee made up of senior managers and the branch president. They meet weekly, but have the ability to hold a meeting sooner if necessary.

Depending on the size of the check and what type of institution the check comes from, the bank will place an uncollected funds hold on the funds. These funds can be placed on hold for seven to ten days or until the check clears. Chesney has the discretion to offer a grace period on a loan, or waiving checking fees, transactions fees, etc. for "good customers."

FirsTier is open Monday through Friday, lobby hours 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and drive through hours 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.