First Bank of Central Ohio opens Upper Arlington branch
Worthington-based First Bank of Central Ohio recently completed its first expansion by opening its second branch at 1760 W. Lane Ave. in Upper Arlington.
The bank was established in April 2021 in Worthington and announced plans to expand this past spring.
That project, which included redeveloping a 2,600-square-foot site that formerly housed Cheesecake Boutique, culminated with the bank's Aug. 1 opening, followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Aug. 11.
Plans are in place for a grand-opening ceremony Sept. 29.
"I think having a market presence is important," FBOCO President and CEO John Smiley said. "Having more than one location gives us visibility in the (Columbus area).
"As a small community bank, we're not going to have 30 locations,” he said. “But we have the northwest area (of Franklin County) covered. This helps with our Hilliard customers, our Upper Arlington customers, our Grandview customers and our campus customers."
According to Upper Arlington officials, FBOCO is the eighth bank operating in the Lane Avenue Planned Mixed-Use District, five within 300 feet of the FBOCO site.
In addition to reaching customers on the northwest side of the county, Smiley said the FBOCO team thought the vibrancy of the Lane Avenue corridor would fit the company's second office and attract new customers. He said they were undeterred by the proliferation of financial institutions in the area.
"We loved the location and competition doesn't scare us," he said. "In Worthington, there are 14 or 15 banks located within a one-mile radius of us.
"If you provide good services, competition shouldn't scare you."
Upper Arlington Economic Development Director Joe Henderson said the city doesn't have payroll tax projections for the FBOCO branch, but he believes it complements the corridor and shows that the area still is highly sought by businesses and developers.
"Lane Avenue is one of the most desirable corridors for businesses in the Columbus region," Henderson said. "We welcome First Bank of Central Ohio to the Upper Arlington community and are excited to see them succeed.”
However, when FBOCO officials pitched their expansion plans to the Upper Arlington Board of Zoning and Planning on March 23, they noted the Upper Arlington branch wouldn't be a typical one.
The new bank doesn't have a drive-thru or ATM and Smiley said he expects "little traffic" at the Upper Arlington branch, in large part because FBOCO deals primarily with businesses, in addition to doing some consumer lending.
He said much of the bank's business is done electronically through remote deposit capture, which according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., is technology that allows customers to "deposit" checks "electronically at remote locations, usually in the customers’ offices, for virtually instant credit to their account." Paper checks are digitally scanned and an image of the check is electronically transmitted to the customer’s bank.
"Even in our Worthington office, we might get three to four customers a day," Smiley said. "Most of our customers use remote capture."
Despite the light physical traffic at the branches, Smiley said FBOCO now has $110 million in total assets and an annual payroll of about $1.7 million for 16 employees.
The Upper Arlington branch will operate from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.
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This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: First Bank of Central Ohio opens Upper Arlington branch
