WSFS Bank
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| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Traded as | NASDAQ: WSFS |
| Industry | Financial Services |
| Founded | 1832 |
| Headquarters | Wilmington, Delaware |
| Area served | Delaware, Pennsylvania |
| Key people | Marvin "Skip" Schoenhals, Chairman Mark Turner, CEO |
| Products | Banking |
| Revenue |  US$171.2 million FY '05 to '06) |
| Employees | 663 |
| Website | www.wsfsbank.com |
Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB, branded as WSFS Bank, is a federal savings bank headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., and is the retail banking subsidiary of WSFS Financial Corporation. The bank operates 41 retail branches in Delaware, Pennsylvania and Virginia. WSFS offers traditional retail banking services such as checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, consumer mortgages, lines of credit, and home equity loans, and also offers commercial banking services for small businesses, business banking and middle market customers, and for real estate development and investment. WSFS also offers investment products through its subsidiary WSFS Investment Group, and wealth and trust management services through its WSFS Trust & Wealth Management subsidiary. WSFS's Cash Connect subsidiary provides ATM support services across all 50 states for more than 10,000 ATMs. Cash Connect operates the second largest ATM servicing platform in the United States.
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History [edit]
Wilmington Savings Fund Society was chartered as a Delaware thrift in 1832 by a group of Wilmington community leaders and businessmen. The bank was formed for the working citizens of Wilmington to encourage thrift, and safeguard and increase their savings in a community bank. The bank's first day of business was February 18, 1832, in a rented room "one door below" Town Hall on Market Street. The bank grew steadily through the 19th century, and moved locations twice more before constructing their own building at 838 N. Market Street in 1895.[citation needed] The building stood until 1929,[citation needed] when the current building was constructed and opened for business. Three years later the building would receive its landmark mural, Apotheosis of the Family by N. C. Wyeth. The mural, 60'x19', was commissioned by Frederick Stone to celebrate the bank's 100th anniversary, and a smaller version of this mural still hangs in the bank's new headquarters at 500 Delaware Avenue in Wilmington.
WSFS's growth continued in the 1950s and 60s, and was the first bank in the United States to issue debit cards in the late 1960s. By the 1980s, WSFS had expanded from northern New Castle County into Kent and Sussex counties, and went public in March 1990 on the NASDAQ market. By the early 1990s the bank was in poor financial shape, and was near bankruptcy. The Board of Directors hired Marvin "Skip" Schoenhals in 1992, and began a dramatic turnaround. Nearly all of the lower Delaware branches were sold to Wilmington Trust, and lending practices and credit quality were administered more closely.
Over time, the bank gradually strengthened and was reintroduced to Kent County and Sussex County. In 1995, WSFS Bank opened its first branch in Kent County in the new Dover Metro Supermarket since the mass closings of 1991 (this location closed in 2009 due to the closing of Metro, but was relocated across from Target). The first new branch in Sussex County since the closings was in July 2003 in Rehoboth Beach. The banking office was temporarily located in Lighthouse Plaza between Super Giant and Kmart. The branch relocated to its new building behind Super Giant upon completion in June 2004. The new branch location was a prototype and the second built identically to the Fox Run location. The same style for the branch has become the standard for new branch offices being built. New branch locations have since opened in Smyrna, West Dover, Camden, Lewes, Millsboro-Long Neck, Millville, and Selbyville.
WSFS Bank has the largest ATM network in Delaware. The bank has ATMs located in all Happy Harry's Pharmacies. Fee free ATMs are also located in most Grotto Pizza, Walmart, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Food Lion locations. There are over 420 WSFS-owned ATMs in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.
In 2007, WSFS Bank moved its corporate headquarters from 838 N. Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware, where it had resided since 1885,[1] to 500 Delaware Avenue.[2] The 838 Market Street location is listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places.[3] The new location is the first multi-tenant building to be constructed in Wilmington since c. 1988.[4]
In 2009, the bank announced,[5]
WSFS Bank was recognized as #1 on the list of Delaware’s outstanding companies and 2009 marks the fourth consecutive year that WSFS has made the "Best in the Business" list. This is the News Journal's tenth year of analyzing Delaware’s business community in its “Best in the Business” supplement. WSFS was ranked 1st overall out of 26 in the large company category and its leadership style was singled out for a special award. The 26 participating large companies with more than 240 employees were judged in the categories of engagement, direction, execution, career, conditions, managers and pay and benefits based on employee surveys.
The Bank was also recognized as the #1 employer in Delaware in 2010 and then again in 2011. More recently, in July 2012, Gallup presented WSFS Bank with the Great Workplace Excellence in Leadership Award.
In 2010 WSFS Bank acquired Christiana Bank & Trust company and integrated the Trust division as part of WSFS's Wealth Management division. The trust business has grown steadily since 2010 and now has more than $10 billion under administration. WSFS Wealth Management provides full service wealth management to individuals including brokerage, trust, investment management and banking products. The Christiana Trust division also services corporations through corporate trust services.
Memberships [edit]
WSFS Bank is a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and is an Equal Housing Lender. WSFS Bank uses STAR, and PLUS for its ATM transactions.
References [edit]
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ Wilmington Savings Fund Society, search form, National Register of Historic Places. Click on the Search button to get link to the bank's listing (The January 30, 1985 listing includes links to the bank's Inventory Nomination Form and an exterior photograph). Retrieved 2011-01-27.
- ^ Wilmington High-rise Buildings (all), Emporis Corporation. Retrieved 2011-01-27.
- ^ Stephanie A. Heist (August 3, 2009). "WSFS Named #1 in 2009 "Best in the Business" List". Press Release. WSFS Financial Corporation. Retrieved 2011-01-27.
