Grand Bank President and CEO Mark Wolters stands in his bank’s Hamilton headquarters Nov. 16, 2015. (Staff photo by Rob Anthes.)
By Jacquelyn Pillsbury
The first of Grand Bank’s two Hamilton locations opened at One Edinburg Road in 2002. But president Mark Wolters and the rest of the Grand Bank management team have worked together for much longer than their bank’s 14-year history.
Wolters and company have partnered banking since 1983, when they worked at Yardville National Bank. Together, they opened Grand Bank in March 2002, followed by a second location on Route 33 in 2013. Many of their employees are also from Hamilton, and have years of banking industry experience.
“We have a long history here,” Wolters said. “We are a privately held bank and are focused on business customers and professions in Hamilton and the greater Mercer County area. We are one of the top five SBA lenders in New Jersey.”
Wolters notes some of the changes in the banking industry since he began his career, and adds Grand Bank is changing with these needs.
“I have a 29-year-old and a 24-year-old,” Wolters said. “They never go to a branch.”
Instead they, and many others, use direct deposit for their paychecks and pay their bills on-line. To keep up with this trend, Grand Bank offers Remote Deposit Capture, where you can use a high speed scanner to take an image of a check and deposit it electronically from anywhere.
“It is a totally different environment,” he said. “You used to have to have branches in different areas to have a market share. Now they don’t need to walk into a branch.”
Customers who do walk into a Grand Bank branch will see it is designed with unique sit-down teller stations for a relaxed and personalized atmosphere. Customers sit a desk opposite a teller and relax while they have a cup of coffee and conducting their banking.
Grand Bank is looking at expanding into Monmouth County, and year ago opened a loan office in that area. Expanding into Monmouth County would take Wolter’s career full circle. He grew up in Jackson Township, and one of his first jobs was in a bank in Freehold.
Grand Bank is also looking at offering new services for their clients. Its latest product, ICD-10 Line of Credit, is one example of their commitment to the greater Hamilton community, Wolters said. Introduced in the third quarter of 2015, ICD-10 Line of Credit is for physicians and other healthcare professionals. ICD stands for International Classification of Diseases; this is the 10th revision of the system which physicians and other providers currently use to code all diagnoses, symptoms and procedures in order to receive payments from insurance companies. The revision introduced 70,000 new codes.
“We believe along with industry experts, that there may be substantial disruption in cash flow to many practices as physicians and insurance carriers become more familiar with the new codes,” Wolters said. “This line of credit will provide a safety net to the professionals should receivables slow down and begin to impact operations.”
Grand Bank has assets of over $200 million as of November 2015. Deposits are insured to the fullest amount through the FDIC. Grand Bank is a member of the US Small Business Administration and is an Equal Housing Lender.
Grand Bank is located at One Edinburg Road and 2265 Route 33 in Hamilton. Phone: (609) 514-3900. Web: grandbk.com.
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