YOUR BANKERS

(Listed In Alphabetical Order)

Susan Finneran began her banking career in 1969 with Bank of America in San Francisco and then moved to Portland with U.S. National Bank before rejoining Bank of America in New York. Susan joined Seafirst in 1977, and in the years since has won the respect of both clients and colleagues for her skills working with both local middle-market and large national companies. Susan, who provides banking services to locally owned businesses and their officers, serves on the boards of the Empty Space Theatre and Camp Fire.

"The greatest satisfaction I get as a banker comes from truly getting to know my client's business, and then creatively participating in the their financial planning and structuring." - SUSAN FINNERAN

Doug Kemper began his career in the international banking/trade finance arena in 1969 as an international bank examiner with the Comptroller of the Currency based in Seattle and London.  He joined Rainier Bank’s International Division in 1977 and later managed Rainier and Security Pacific Bank international banking units in Seattle, Los Angeles and Portland.  Doug subsequently managed the international banking activities of Key Bank in Seattle and Heritage Bank in Tacoma prior to becoming the Trade Services Sales Manager for Washington Mutual in 2001.  He recently joined The Commerce Bank as Director-Trade Services representing the bank’s excellent capabilities in providing international payment products to its clients.  Doug received a BS degree in International Business from Oregon State University and is a 1981 graduate of the Pacific Coast Banking School.  He is presently on the board of directors of the Trade Development Alliance of Greater Seattle and the Washington Council for International Trade and previously served on the boards of the World Trade Center Tacoma, Pacific Rim Bankers Program, Japan America Society and the Pierce County American Red Cross.

 “The Commerce Bank and its California Bank and Trust affiliate offers a complete menu of international payment products including letters of credit, documentary collections and foreign exchange with the highest level of service that is typically received by the bank’s clients.  I am proud to represent The Commerce Bank’s desire to provide quality international banking products to the market it serves.” - DOUG KEMPER

Lynda Linse joined The Commerce Bank in 1994 after four years as a vice president at Puget Sound Bank. Before that, she spent fifteen years in banking in California. A Seattle native, Lynda's under-graduate degree is from the University of Washington and she holds an MBA in finance from Golden State University in San Francisco. She is also a graduate of Pacific Coast Banking School. In the greater Seattle community, she serves on the board of Food Lifeline and is an active supporter of the YWCA and an Associate with Corporate Council for the Arts.

"Every client wants to achieve their business and personal goals. A genuine interest and commitment to helping them do exactly that is what they should get from their banker. It's a philosophy that promotes long-term success for everyone." - LYNDA LINSE

Ron Lynch began his banking career in 1981 at Rainier Bank in Seattle, working his way up through the operations and finance areas of the bank. In 1993 Ron joined The Commerce Bank and has been involved in developing and improving the bank’s operations ever since. He is currently responsible for operations, technology, cash management, investments, international services and regulatory compliance.

“The culture of thinking outside the box in order to provide the client with the best banking experience has been the most rewarding aspect of my career at The Commerce Bank. It’s fun working at a bank that really backs up the talk about premier customer service.”
- RON LYNCH

Craig Manalili began his career in commercial banking in 2001 with U.S. Bank.  As a Relationship Manager at both U.S. Bank and Foundation Bank, Craig has provided banking services to a wide variety of customers ranging from small local companies to large national corporations and has developed personal relationships with their owners and managers.  Craig received his BA in Math from the University of Washington and an MBA from Seattle University.

“The most rewarding part of being a Relationship Manager is not only contributing to one’s financial success, whether business and personal, but also developing the personal relationships that go along with it.” - CRAIG MANALILI

Lisa McCloud joined The Commerce Bank in July of 2002 after three years in the commercial lending group at U.S. Bank. She earned her undergraduate degree in Business Administration and Finance from the University of Washington and graduated with honors from Seattle Pacific University’s MBA program in 2006. She serves on the advisory councils of several volunteer and young professional organizations.

“By emphasizing our dedication to customer service The Commerce Bank has attracted and retained some of the most experienced relationship managers and appreciative clients in our region. It is clear from the moment you walk through the door that this Bank is something special.” - LISA MCCLOUD

Don McGinnis' career in commercial banking began in 1983 with Norwest Bank (Wells Fargo), moving to Seattle in 1987 for Sumitomo Bank. In 1990, Don joined Seafirst (Bank of America), and managed an office for B of A’s Private Bank in 1999. Don’s educational and professional background is in finance, investment management and estate planning. After 20 years of large banking institutions, Don joined the Commerce Bank as a Relationship Manager.

“All of the Relationship Managers at Commerce came from large institutions, but after years of mergers, we are excited to be back in an environment like banking use to be. We like Commerce’s flat organizational structure, local decision making, and the operating principal of common sense. We don’t have strategic initiatives to meet, policies to hide behind, or boxes to then think outside of. The result is a team of experienced, satisfied, and stable individuals that can focus on the reason for Commerce Bank’s existence: our clients.” - DON MCGINNIS

Hiep Q. Quach joined The Commerce Bank in 1999 after a diverse banking career that began in 1972 with Union Bank in Los Angeles. In the years after relocating to Seattle, Hiep served as Vice President and Manager of Commercial Lending at the Main Office of Rainier National Bank from 1977 to 1982. Hiep then joined Peoples Bank, which subsequently became US Bank, where he served as Senior Vice President and Team Leader of the Metropolitan Corporate Banking Group from 1986 to 1992. In 1993, Hiep experienced his international banking profession by assuming the Senior Vice President and Manager of the South Asia Banking Group of US BanCorp until 1996. Hiep left US BanCorp to assist the Central Bank of Vietnam (his native country) for most of 1996. Upon returning to the US, Hiep joined KeyBank as Senior Vice President to develop upper mid-market banking relationships for Key prior to joining Commerce Bank.He received his Bachelor Degree in Economics from Chapman College in 1970 (Orange, CA) and Master Degree in Business Administration from California State University in 1972 (Fullerton, CA). He attended postgraduate studies at the Graduate School of Management of University of CA at Los Angeles from 1972 to 1974. An active participant in our community activities, Hiep currently serves Board member and Secretary of the United Way of King County.

Norm Rea joined The Commerce Bank after a long career with Seafirst, the last five years as vice president in the rapidly growing private banking market. Norm held several positions of responsibility at Seafirst including marketing, sales, and branch and area management. At The Commerce Bank, Norm continues to focus on local business owners, professionals, and successful individuals. Norm has contributed to our community through his activity with several youth-oriented programs. 

"If there's one thing I've learned in 30 years of banking, it's that the best credit decisions are based on knowing the people as well as the numbers." - NORM REA

Tom Rook began his banking career in 1968 with Security Pacific Bank in Los Angeles and then moved to Seattle in 1973 to join SeaFirst Bank in its Correspondent Banking and Alaska Banking Department.  In 1978, Tom joined Rainier Bank in its National Banking Group, managing large corporate clients in the Western United States and those involved in the Airline and Aerospace industries.  He was also involved with many middle market clients located in the state of Hawaii.  After the merger of Security Pacific Bank (parent of Rainier Bank) and Bank of America in 1992, Tom returned to Seafirst Bank (Bank of America) as a team leader overseeing the National Banking portfolio until 1996 when he moved to Bellevue as a team leader in one of the middle market teams.  In 1999 Tom returned to Seattle as SVP and Senior Client Manager for medium and large middle market companies in Western Washington and Hawaii.

 “After working in a large nationwide banking environment, the move to Commerce Bank is a confirmation that smaller banks have not lost the concept of personal service.  What we excel in is knowing the customer and meeting their needs, which should not be considered a novel approach to banking.“ – TOM ROOK

Marty Steele began his banking career in 1981 with Rainier Bank, later joining Bank of America where he held senior client relationship and management positions in Commercial Banking, Private Banking and Investment Banking.  He received his BS from Rutgers University and MS from Yale University.  Marty has served on the boards of the Seattle Opera, Seattle Boy Scouts, ACT Theatre and the Multiple Sclerosis Society. 
 

"The most rewarding aspect of my job is to help business owners achieve their financial goals and grow their companies.  The Commerce Bank's unique structure, with no hierarchy or bureaucracy, allows me to apply my experience and skills as a banker directly to my client relationships." - MARTY STEELE

Sri Thornton joined The Commerce Bank in 1999 after holding several responsibilities during her banking career that began in 1974 from being a commercial lending officer in Seattle and then in Indonesia and Singapore. She then returned to Seattle where she joined Rainier Bank as its International Credit Administrator which required extensive overseas travel. Sri moved to the Private Banking Division in 1987 which is the banking sector that she enjoys the most. Prior to her banking career, she was an attorney in her home country, Indonesia, and briefly was a practicing attorney in Seattle.    Her educational and professional background is in international corporate law, finance and estate planning.  Sri serves on the board of Bellevue Community College Foundation and PATH.

 “Because the client has a need, we have a job to do and clients have a choice and we must be the better choice. Clients have urgency which we must be quick in responding. Each client is unique therefore we must be flexible. Most importantly, clients have high expectations, we must excel. Because the client has influence, we have the hope of more clients and because of the client, we exist.” – SRI THORNTON

Jack Unbehend began his banking career in 1995 with Key Bank, where he served as a branch Private Banking Officer in the greater Seattle area. After several years, he transitioned to Foundation Bank to focus on building relationships with established families and area business owners, and tailoring solutions that met their unique needs.  Jack joined The Commerce Bank in early 2007 to unite his Private Banking and commercial banking experience, where he collaborates with clients who prefer to work closely with their trusted banking advisor to achieve their ideal financial objectives.  Jack is a graduate from the University of Puget Sound where he earned a B.S. degree in Biology.

 “The Commerce Bank’s commitment to exceeding clients’ expectations is unparalleled in our marketplace.  I am pleased to partner with an organization that is dedicated to building long lasting client relationships through exceptional service.” – JACK UNBEHEND

An outstanding staff extends the depth of experience of our bankers. These team members apply their diverse backgrounds and skills to effectively serve our clients. These capable people include: