Bank-deposit numbers show shift in state, Denver

Data imperfect, but indication of customer base

By David Milstead, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published October 8, 2008 at 10:56 a.m.
Updated October 9, 2008 at 12:13 a.m.

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New bank-deposit data show Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank and Wachovia slipping in Colorado and the Denver area with FirstBank and Chase Bank gaining market share.

The numbers, from June 30, are released annually by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The measure is imperfect because large banks can easily move deposits from state to state and shift their customers into nondeposit investments.

However, the report is the best independent measure of whether banks seem to be gaining or losing customers.

* San Francisco-based Wells Fargo, the biggest bank in Colorado and the Denver-Aurora area, saw deposits fall 3.0 percent and 5.4 percent in the state and the metro area, respectively. Its market-leading share fell to 16.3 percent in Colorado and 18.5 percent in the Denver area.

Don Marshall, Wells Fargo's regional president for Denver Metro, said the data don't include the ways his bank measures its success. The bank increased the number of Colorado households it serves by 3.5 percent and the number of products it sold by 16 percent, he said.

* Lakewood-based FirstBank, the only Colorado-headquartered bank among the top five, posted deposit gains of 4.2 percent and 5.5 percent in the state and metro area, respectively. Its shares are now 9.2 percent of the state and 12.0 percent of the metro area.

"Fairly normal (deposit) pricing and fairly steady growth is our goal," said Chief Operating Officer Dave Baker.

* Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank saw its Colorado deposits drop by 6.3 percent and its Denver-area deposits drop by 5.8 percent. Its share figures now stand at 7.8 percent and 10.1 percent, respectively.

* Charlotte, N.C.-based Wachovia, which entered the market with the 2006 purchase of World Savings Bank, saw a steep decline in a period where it converted old branches to the Wachovia name. Deposits fell 14.4 percent in the state and 11.7 percent in the Denver area. Its shares now stand at 5.8 percent and 6.7 percent.

"We anticipated there'd be some deposit runoff because of the merger between Wachovia and World Savings Bank," Wachovia spokesman Joe Stroop said.

World Savings Bank paid high deposit rates and used the money to fund its mortgage lending. That mortgage portfolio is one of the chief contributors to Wachovia's collapse and purchase by either Wells Fargo or New York- based Citigroup.

* New York-based Chase Bank saw deposit gains of 13.4 percent in the state and 16.9 percent in the Denver area. Its shares now stand at 5.5 percent and 6.3 percent, respectively.

"We are building our Colorado business the old-fashioned way, opening new branches and recruiting new customers," said spokeswoman Mary Jane Rogers. She said the bank opened 11 new offices in Colorado over the 12 months ending in June 2008.

The numbers do not include Chase Bank's acquisition of Washington Mutual or Wells Fargo's proposed deal for Wachovia.

A combined Wells Fargo- Wachovia would have 22 percent of the state's deposits and 25 percent of the Denver area's deposits.

Finance Editor David Milstead can be reached at milstead@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2648.

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