First Northern Bank of Dixon was established in 1910 under a California state
charter as Northern Solano Bank, and opened for business on February 1st of
that year. On January 2, 1912, the First National Bank of Dixon was established
under a federal charter, and until 1955, the two entities operated side by side
under the same roof and with the same management. In an effort to increase efficiency
of operation, reduce operating expense, and improve lending capacity, the two
banks were consolidated on April 8, 1955, with the First National Bank of Dixon
as the surviving entity.
The Bank has nine full service branches. Three are located in the Solano County
cities of Dixon, Fairfield, and Vacaville. Four branches are located in the
Yolo County cities of Winters, Davis, West Sacramento and Woodland; and two
branches are located in the Placer County cities of Roseville and Auburn. The
Bank also has one satellite banking office inside a retirement community in
the city of Davis. In addition, the Bank has a residential mortgage loan office
in Davis. The Bank also has an Asset Management & Trust Department in Downtown
Sacramento that serves the Banks entire market area. Similarly, the Bank engages
financial advisors who offer non-FDIC insured investment and brokerage services
throughout the region from offices strategically located in Davis and Auburn.
The Bank also has a commercial loan office in the Contra Costa County city of
Walnut Creek that serves the East Bay Areas small- to medium-sized business
lending needs.
The Bank operates one branch in Davis. The Davis economy is supported significantly
by the University of California, Davis.
In 1983, the West Sacramento Branch was opened. The West Sacramento economy
is based primarily on transportation, manufacturing, and distribution-related
business.
In order to accommodate the demand of the Banks customers for long-term residential
real estate loans, a mortgage loan office was opened in 1983. This office is
centrally located in Davis, and has enabled the Bank to access the secondary
real estate market.
The Vacaville Regency Park Branch was opened in 1985. Vacaville has a diverse
economic base including a California state prison, food processing, distribution,
shopping centers ("factory outlet stores"), medical, biotech, and
other varied industries.
In 1994, the Fairfield Branch was opened. Its diverse economic base includes
military, namely Travis Air Force Base, food processing (an Anheuser-Busch plant),
retail, namely the "Solano Town Center", manufacturing, medical, agriculture,
and other varied industries. Fairfield is the county seat of Solano County.
A mortgage loan production office was opened in El Dorado Hills in April 1996,
to serve the growing mortgage loan demand in the foothills area east of Sacramento.
This office was moved to Folsom in 2006, a more central location for serving
Folsom, Rancho Cordova, and the west slope of El Dorado County. The Folsom office
was consolidated into the Roseville Mortgage Office in early 2012.
An SBA Loan Department was opened in April 1997 in Sacramento to serve the
small business and industrial loan demand throughout the Banks entire market
area. Today, SBA loans are underwritten by the Banks small business lenders
located within the Banks branches.
In June of 1997, the Banks seventh branch was opened in Woodland, the county
seat of Yolo County. Woodlands economy includes agribusiness, retail services,
and an industrial sector.
The Banks eighth branch, the Downtown Financial Center, opened in July of
2000 in Vacaville to serve the business and individual financial needs on the
west side of Interstate-80. The Vacaville Regency Park Branch was consolidated
into the Vacaville Downtown Financial Center in January 2012.
Two satellite banking offices of the Banks Davis Branch were opened in 2001
in the Davis senior living communities of Covell Gardens and the University
Retirement Community. The Bank later consolidated the Covell Gardens location
into its main branch in Davis.
In December of 2001, Roseville became the site of the Banks fourth mortgage
loan production office. This office served the residential mortgage loan needs
throughout the foothill regions of Placer, Sacramento as well as the west slope
of El Dorado County through June 2014, when it was consolidated into the Davis
mortgage loan office.
In October of 2002, the Bank opened its tenth branch on a prominent corner
in Downtown Sacramento to serve Sacramento Metros business center and its employees.
The Banks Asset Management & Trust Department, located on the mezzanine
of the Downtown Sacramento Branch, was also opened in 2002 to serve the trust
and fiduciary needs of the Banks entire market area. On November 4, 2013, the
Downtown Sacramento Branch was consolidated into the West Sacramento Branch
while another Sacramento location is identified that will allow the Bank to
provide more convenience to its clients. In July 2015, the Asset Management
& Trust Department relocated to another office a few blocks away in Downtown
Sacramento.
The Bank expanded its presence in Placer County in January 2005 by opening
a full service branch on a prominent corner in the business district of Roseville.
In late 2007, First Northern Bank seized an opportunity in Auburn to acquire
several key personnel from a highly respected local bank that had just merged
with a large conglomerate bank. While First Northern scouted for a branch site,
the Auburn team worked from the Banks Roseville Branch to develop business
in Auburn. In June 2008, the Bank opened its Auburn Financial Center in a temporary
location. Later, First Northern Bank purchased a building in the Auburn Town
Center that previously housed a branch of a bank that no longer exists. In 2011,
the Auburn Financial Center staff moved into its permanent location. First Northern
Bank leases office space in this building to various tenants. The Auburn Financial
Center houses a full service branch and an Investment & Brokerage Services
Office. Auburn is the county seat of Placer County.
In 2013, the Bank opened a commercial loan office in the Contra Costa County
city of Walnut Creek to serve the East Bay Areas small- to medium-sized business
lending needs.
Through this period of change and diversification, the Banks strategic focus,
which emphasizes serving the banking needs of individuals and small-to medium-sized
businesses, has not changed. The Bank takes real estate, crop proceeds, securities,
savings and time deposits, automobiles, and equipment as collateral for loans.
Fiduciary services are offered to individuals, businesses, governments, and
charitable organizations in the Solano, Yolo, Sacramento, Placer, El Dorado
and Contra Costa County regions. Most of the Banks deposits are attracted from
the market of northern and central Solano County and southern and central Yolo
County