Get to Know West Gate Bank
Lincoln’s Full-Service, Family-Owned Community Bank for 50 Years!
Give me a brief synopsis of what your company does.
West Gate Bank is a full-service, family-owned community bank. As a full-service bank, West Gate Bank is large enough to serve all of your banking needs, yet small enough to provide the outstanding personal service that only a community bank can deliver. We offer consumer banking, business banking, commercial lending and mortgage lending services.
How long have you been in Lincoln?
We celebrated our 50th anniversary in Lincoln in 2018.
Who are the owners/important executives?
Carl Sjulin is the President and CEO of West Gate Bank. The Sjulin family has owned West Gate Bank since 1980.
What do you think makes you different from other companies similar to yours?
Focusing on delivering the personal service that West Gate Bank prides itself on, each location offers a full-service menu for personal and business accounts. At West Gate Bank, “Our Interest is You” is more than a slogan. We are committed to remaining family-owned and focused on serving the people of Nebraska. Our vision of servant leadership is based on a few, simple core values including providing you with the best banking products and good, old fashioned Nebraska customer service.
What do you like about doing business in Lincoln?
Lincoln is really a small town at heart, which fits well for a community bank. We take a great deal of pride in the relationships we build with our customers to help them succeed and thrive. West Gate Bank has grown with Lincoln and it’s been a privilege to be a part of the community. We look forward to many more years of serving Lincoln!
What kind of community organizations/groups is your business involved with?
Through charitable donations, West Gate Bank provides sponsorship and support to numerous community organizations including Food Bank of Lincoln, Project Harmony, Habitat for Humanity of Lincoln, People’s City Mission, Lincoln Community Foundation, the Willard Community Center, and the EVERFI financial education classes taught in high schools.
What is your business philosophy or mission statement?
Our mission statement is: Integrity. Strength. Trust. West Gate Bank is committed to providing a strong foundation to build relationships that empower our customers and employees to achieve their dreams.
What changes have you seen in the industry and your company in the past few years?
Technology continues to change the banking industry, with new products and services being developed to improve the customer experience. Banks are constantly challenged to find new and improved processes to make the customer experience easier to manage through online and mobile technology.
Our mortgage department recently launched a new product, Mobile Mortgage, that offers borrowers a completely online application experience for their mortgage, residential construction, or refinance loan. Users can download the free app for Android and Apple devices in order to:
- Compare different lending scenarios using various loan programs to help determine which product is the best fit
- Calculate the possible savings (or cost) of refinancing a mortgage
- Scan in required documents on a mobile phone and upload them quickly to expedite the loan approval process
- Access mortgage calculators
- Stay up-to-date on the loan process and closing
What has been your most important achievement as a business?
Celebrating our 50th anniversary as a locally-owned community bank and expanded into the Omaha market were important achievements for our institution in 2018. The move into Omaha was a natural extension of our business as we had been actively lending in the market. Adding the three branches we opened in July 2018, allows us to now offer the full range of our products in Omaha.
What is the most unique or interesting thing about your business that most people don’t know?
One thing consumers might not be aware of is that we service the mortgage loans we originate. It’s a unique model for a community bank, but it fits with our ideal of serving the customer. We service those mortgages here in Lincoln, and recently hit the $2 billion dollar mark on the loans we service. That it an outstanding accomplishment for our mortgage department!