Sylvania Township bank outlines expansion plan

Addition to its headquarters, branch in Perrysburg slated

Waterford Bank plans to add 22,000 square feet to its headquarters.

Waterford Bank of Sylvania Township, the area's newest bank, is adding a second location in downtown Perrysburg and is spending nearly $6 million to add 22,000 square feet to its headquarters.

Larry Boyer, executive vice president and one of the bank's founders, said Monday that the bank is in negotiations to open a second, 3,500-square-foot branch at 231 Louisiana Ave. in Perrysburg. The bank plans to spend $1 million to $1.2 million to build a new office, and it expects the project to be completed next spring.

The company Monday broke ground on a $4.5 million to $5 million expansion of its first location on McCord Road just south of Sylvania Avenue. The addition is expected to be complete in about 11 months.

The bank has 34 employees at its 10,200-square-foot headquarters and eight mortgage-lending staff members at a rented office in Sylvania Township. The project will allow Waterford to house all of the workers in one building, as well as hire 15 more mortgage-lending, deposit, and support staff in three years.

"We've grown significantly since we started four years ago," Mr. Boyer said. "We're over $350 million in assets right now, and we are out of space."

Much of Waterford's clientele includes commercial lending and high net-worth customers. Data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. shows Waterford had $320 million in assets as of March 31. The bank received a "superior" five-star rating earlier this year from BauerFinancial Inc. of Coral Gables, Fla., a leading bank-research firm.

Waterford Bank, founded in 2007, is the second homegrown bank to come out of northwest Ohio in the last decade. Signature Bank of Toledo, founded in 2002, also received a five-star rating from BauerFinancial and reported nearly $524 million in assets in March, according to the FDIC.

Rick Brunner, chairman and chief executive of Signature Bank, said the institution does not plan to expand beyond its 20,000-square-foot headquarters at 4607 W. Sylvania Ave. It has about 100 employees.

"We plan on continuing to implement our strategy and focusing on providing the highest level of personal service," said Mr. Brunner, whose bank focuses primarily on commercial clients.

Contact Sheena Harrison at: sharrison@theblade.com or 419-724-6103.