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Photograph by George Sakkestad
Richard Mount, a Saratoga resident, is the president of Saratoga National Bank, whose parent company, Saratoga Bancorp, is merging with San Jose National Bank Financial Corp., which operates San Jose National Bank.
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Homegrown Saratoga bank has merged with the SJNB
By Shari Kaplan
For close to two decades, Saratoga National Bank, with its three branches in Saratoga, Los Gatos and San Jose, emphasized that it was a "community bank" and took pride in its small size and local interests. It continues to operate out of the same locations, but will soon be under a larger organization and with a proportionately large customer base.
As of Aug. 27, San Jose National Bank Financial Corp., which operates San Jose National Bank branches in the South Bay as well as in Danville, signed an agreement to merge with Saratoga Bancorp, the parent company of Saratoga National Bank. Although neither party has yet adopted a formal timetable for carrying out the merger process, they expect to complete it by the end of this year.
Although SNB's San Jose branch will close sometime after the merger, its employees will be given the opportunity to work for the nearest SJNB branch, according to Richard L. Mount, Saratoga Bancorp's president and CEO. The remaining SNB branches will probably change their names to San Jose National Bank, although this is still under discussion, Mount says.
A Saratoga resident who co-founded SNB 18 years ago, Mount will no longer be involved in the day-to-day banking business after the merger. However, he will join the SJNB board of directors and also serve on the executive management committee.
The merger will also result in the formation of a financial institution with approximately $552 million in assets, $440 million in deposits and $49 million in shareholders' equity--figures based on each company's financial position as of June 30, 1999. SJNB will also acquire the outstanding shares of SNB's common stock; upon consummation of the merger, all Saratoga shareholders will receive 0.70 shares of SJNB common stock for each outstanding share of Saratoga stock.
"This business combination will allow us to provide our clients a broader range of products and services, while maintaining the characteristics of a community bank," Mount says of the merger.
"We're extremely pleased with this opportunity to combine forces in a manner that will provide existing customers of both banks [with] more services, while also allowing us to attract new customers who are currently banking with the megabanks," says SJNB president and CEO James R. Kenny, adding that many of his bank's customers already live or work in Saratoga and Los Gatos.
SJNB and SNB were both formed in 1982, the former primarily as a business-oriented bank, the latter as an institution offering personalized services to individuals and also businesses. After the merger is complete, some members of Saratoga Bancorp's board of directors will serve on the SJNB board.
Saratoga National Bank's three branches are located at 12000 S. Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road, Saratoga; 15405 Los Gatos Blvd., Los Gatos; and 160 W. Santa Clara St., San Jose. Customers with questions or concerns may call 973.1111.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
