Our History

In 1979 a group of local business owners got together and opened Lacey Bank. Within a couple of years, it was decided that our name should better reflect the areas we wanted to serve.

In 1981, our bank's name was changed to First Community Bank. We opened our second branch on the east side of Olympia in 1983, and also formed our holding company, First Community Financial Group, to help expand services to our customers. In 1987, we added mortgage lending services to our product offerings.

Our Yelm and Tumwater branches were opened in 1990. In 1993 we merged with Citizens First Bank in Grays Harbor, adding branches in Elma and Hoquiam. Our branch network increased to seven when we added a branch in Downtown Olympia in 1994.

In 1995 we remodeled our Lacey location to expand the branch lobby and add a fireplace, and we began offering fresh baked cookies daily to our banking customers. Our administrative offices moved to the Lacey location as well. Our efforts to create a warm, welcoming banking environment were fulfilled when we began offering fresh cookies and coffee in all of our branch locations.

Later in 1995, we acquired Northwest Community Bank in Tacoma. We opened a new branch in Centralia during February of 1996, bringing our total number of branches to ten. In 1996 our bank also added an investment services division.

Our growth continued in 1997 when we acquired Prairie Security Bank. A short time later, we opened a branch in Panorama City. In July of 1997 we acquired four branches from Wells Fargo Bank, located in Montesano, Hoquiam, Toledo, and Winlock. We moved our original Hoquiam branch to a new location in Aberdeen in March of 1998.

During 1999, we opened a new branch and lending office on Canyon Road in Puyallup. We added another branch at our Hawks Prairie location in Lacey, in 2000. In early 2001, we added two new branches in West Olympia and at Meridian & 152nd in Puyallup. We also opened a new branch and commercial lending office in Downtown Tacoma. In 2002, we acquired Harbor Bank which provided us a great opportunity to expand our Pierce County service area.

2003 marked a milestone in our history as we began examining ways to improve a number of elements within our organization. We determined that although the First Community Bank name served us well, a new name could reflect both who were and who we want to be in the years ahead. In May, 2003, we changed our name to Venture Bank - a name that symbolizes our decades of commitment to the businesses and families of Washington.

Today, Venture Bank has 19 financial centers in Lewis, Thurston, Pierce, and King Counties.  Venture Bank has approximately $1 billion in assets.

Venture Bank offers a whole new way of banking that is purely Northwest, with an attitude that is as Independent as You.