Planning Firm Looks To Bank For High-Net-Worth Clients

For one planning firm, new high-net-worth clients may now come from an unexpected place: a regional bank.

Wealth management firm Coldstream Capital Management in Bellevue, Wash., is partnering with Banner Bank in Walla Walla, Wash. The $4.4 billion-asset bank will refer HNW clients to Coldstream for advisory services, according to the companies' joint Tuesday press release.

Coldstream President Roger Reynolds describes the arrangement as "a tremendous cultural fit" and says his firm has been in discussion with Banner regarding the partnership for almost two years. Coldstream, which was founded in 1996, has roughly $1.4 billion of assets under advisement. Reynolds says he hopes to boost this number with the aid of Banner's 110,000 retail customers and 4,500 commercial lending clients who can now access Coldstream's advisory services.

"We see this is as a tremendous opportunity to grow our assets under management expectations," says Reynolds. "That is a primary goal on our side."

Banner, a subsidiary of Banner Corp., has 85 branches in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. The company agreed in February to pick up six branches from Sterling Financial in advance of the Spokane, Wash., company's sale to Umpqua Holdings in Portland, Ore.

"Coldstream will be devoted to serving Banner's clients with the same attention to their individual needs and aspirations as we devote to building long-lasting client relationships," Banner Bank President and Chief Executive Mark Grescovich said in a statement.

Banner's plan to pay $197 million for Home Federal in Nampa, Idaho, fell through in October when it was outbid by Cascade Bancorp in Bend, Ore.

"This partnership allows us to have a true banking partner to bring banking services to serve our affluent client needs," says Reynolds. "It is a cohesive relationship."

Sarah Todd is a reporter for American Banker. The original story ran on www.americanbanker.com. It has been updated with additional reporting.