Mountain West Bank to open Wallace branch
The bank building at 419 Sixth St. in the Wallace Historic District was originally built in 1916 to house the First National Bank of Wallace, which later expanded as the First National Bank of North Idaho.
Photos courtesy of the WALLACE DISTRICT MINING MUSEUM ARCHIVES and JOHN WEBB
WALLACE — The county seat once again has a bank.
Mountain West Bank announced Tuesday morning that it will be opening a new branch office in Wallace’s famed First National Bank Building on the corner of Sixth and Bank streets.
With an expected opening of May 2022, Wallace will have to navigate the next three months with nothing more than an ATM — following the closure of US Bank just a few weeks ago.
According to Mountain West Bank CEO Scott Anderson, the bank will need regulatory approval and installation of an ATM, signage, and data and telecommunications connections at the building prior to its opening.
"It's difficult to imagine a better win-win scenario," Anderson said. "It offers Mountain West Bank an opportunity to expand our community footprint to serve the banking needs of businesses and citizens of Wallace and the surrounding communities of the Silver Valley. It also ensures Wallace will have a bank in town."
When it was announced last year that US Bank would be closing its doors, located at the corner of Sixth and Cedar streets, many Wallace leaders sprang into action, including Mayor Lynn Mogensen, City Councilman Dean Cooper, as well as John Magnuson and Wallace Chamber coordinator Dave Copelan.
“Mountain West has a lot about them that makes more sense for Wallace,” Copelan said. “They are much more workable than large corporations like a US Bank. This really is a perfect fit for Wallace.”
Anderson said the bank will hire a branch manager in the next few weeks, followed by tellers, personal bankers and an assistant manager in early March.
Mountain West Bank's new Wallace branch will offer business and personal deposit accounts, consumer loans, home loans, business loans, and other business banking services.
The newest branch of Mountain West Bank will likely be housed in its oldest location — that is, when you factor in that the First National Bank Building is 106 years old.
"We're delighted to be moving into historic downtown Wallace and open for business in that beautiful building," Anderson said.
In 2016, John Magnuson acquired the building with the goal of maintaining its historical integrity and ultimately reopening the same for its intended use as a bank.
"We are pleased to welcome Mountain West to Wallace as a community member and supporter as we collectively write the future chapters of Wallace's illustrious history," Magnuson said.
For Wallace, this is a huge win in a situation that seemed fairly dire just a few months ago.
“This just goes to show people that the residents of Wallace will go over, under, around, or through any hurdle or obstacle that you put in front of them for their community,” Copelan said. “We’re excited to have them here.”
Mountain West Bank was founded in Coeur d'Alene in 1993.
In addition to its Coeur d'Alene headquarters, Mountain West Bank operates 21 branches, financial service centers, and lending centers throughout Idaho and Eastern Washington.
It is a division of Montana-based Glacier Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of Glacier Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: GBCI) that operates 194 offices in 124 communities in Montana, Idaho, Colorado, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, Arizona and Nevada. Visit MountainWestBank.com for more details. Member FDIC.