Viking Bank
Viking Bank

Address:
13605 Meridian Ave E
Puyallup WA 98373
Phone: (253) 445-6626
Fax: (253) 445-2813

Shelly Elsey, Assistant Vice President & Retail Branch Manager
shellye@vikingbank.com

Doug Westmark, Senior Vice President & Builder Banking Manager
dougs@vikingbank.com

Hours:
9:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday - Thursday
9:00 am to 5:30 pm Friday

- ATM & Night Drop Service

ABOUT US:

When Puget Sounders think of Viking Bank, many still envision a little bank in Ballard. But that’s as dated as the image of Scandinavians as Vikings. What the bank does have in common with its legendary namesake is it knows how to get around. Viking Bank has quickly grown from a small outpost in Ballard to a thriving network of branches throughout the greater Puget Sound region.

“We hit on something back in 1992," explains Dr. Thorpe Kelly, founding director (emeritus) of Viking Bank. "People were looking--and are still looking--for a bank that is set up to serve them, rather than some big bank bureaucracy.”

It all started when Kelly sought a loan for his successful practice. “I was running six figures through my local branch but they still couldn't okay a simple loan," he says. After spending half a business day going to the bank's downtown office to meet with a 24-year old loan officer, Kelly came to the conclusion that he needed a bank that valued his time and the business he had worked hard to build. He proposed his idea to a group of local business leaders, and in just 80 days, Viking Bank was born. "That's the fastest a bank has ever been set up," Kelly says with obvious pride.

After the organization process and syndication of $3 million in stock, Viking Bank opened its first branch in Ballard on July 1, 1992. During 1993, Viking's first full year of operations, total assets grew to nearly $25 million. "Our timing was good," says Kaare Ness, founding director (emeritus) of Viking Bank. “There wasn't anybody around who could make good, local decisions.”

With a decade of megabank mergers and acquisitions, timing continues to play a role in the bank's success. Statistics show that each time customers are forced to learn new bank procedures from new branch personnel, there is another exodus to the region's community banks. Viking Bank, in particular, has reaped the rewards of big bank backlash. “We've been very fortunate to attract good people who know how to serve their local communities,” continues Ness. "Our folks tend to stay with Viking Bank for a long time, and that's made a big difference."

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