What Does Umpqua Bank Offer?
Umpqua Bank is a medium-sized bank that is headquartered in Portland, Oregon. In fact, Umpqua Bank is the largest bank headquartered in Portland, one of the largest cities in the Pacific Northwest region. Umpqua serves customers through both its commercial banking and its retail banking services. Umpqua Bank provides consumer and business banking of checking and savings accounts along with small business and personal loans.
Checking Accounts
Savings Accounts
Savings accounts are a great place to park extra money that you don’t need for a short period of time. Savings accounts work very similarly to checking accounts, with interest-bearing accounts often paying higher interest rates than non-interest bearing. Some accounts, referred to as “Money Market” accounts, pay quarterly interest and have transactional capabilities.
At Umpqua Bank, they have several savings accounts designed to fit anyone’s needs. They have a Rewards Checking account that pays up to 2.50% APY, a Savings Account that pays 0.25% APY, and a Business Money Market Account that pays up to 1.50% APY.
Personal and Home Loans
Umpqua Bank is a third-generation, family-owned bank. In case you’ve never heard of them, they’re one of the leading regional banks in modern-day Oregon. They’re headquartered in Portland and have developed a cohesive brand and offer a diverse mix of services – from personal and home loans to CDs and investment brokerage services.
So, what’s the next step after you’ve gotten your eyes on my Umpqua Bank review and decided to give the bank a call for a home loan?
My guess would be to consider the interest rate, the length of the term, and how much money you want to borrow. In this day and age, you’ll get a lower interest rate if you borrow a larger amount.
The term you choose should be based on how quickly you want to pay off the loan and how long you want to keep that debt on your books. The longer, the lower your interest rate will be.
You can choose from a variety of fixed and adjustable rates. During this review, I’ve highlighted some key numbers concerning their personal and home loan products. For your convenience, I’ve made them easy to digest by putting them in the table below.
Credit Cards
Umpqua Bank is a wholly owned subsidiary of Umpqua Holdings Corporation. What started as a small bank in a suburb of Portland, Oregon in 1970 is now America’s 11th largest independent bank, with over 600 branches in Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho, and Alaska.
Umpqua Bank is a bank and a bank only – it's not a credit union. It’s also not a traditional bank with a series of payday loan stores. What’s unique about Umpqua is that it is different in every way. The bank offers personal banking services and small business banking services. It has both residential and commercial real estate lending and a sizeable presence in wealth management and commercial banking.
Umpqua Bank’s credit cards, on the other hand, are very traditional – they’re not hybrid rewards credit cards like the ones you see from Chase, and they’re not bank credit cards. Essentially, they’re just plain vanilla credit cards, and that’s what makes them so appealing.
Investments
Umpqua Bank invested in their organization and most important, in their employees.
These investments are what make Umpqua Bank distinct, which is why they can consistently deliver higher returns on equity than the averages of the industry.
After experiencing my first home-buying experience, I’ve added a whole lot to my skill set. I used to believe that if my agent did all they were supposed to do, I didn’t really need to be involved in the process at all. My first impression seemed to be completely correct – my loan officer seemed to know everything about investing in a new house. I was surprised at how much I learned during the process and how much I was actually involved in the decisions that were made.
Business Banking
My Umpqua Bank is a Portland-based company that has been operating in California, Washington, and Oregon since 1989. Its headquarters are located in Portland, Oregon, and it now has over 68 Umpqua Bank branches across the three states.
The bank was started by a group of friends, Bob Williams, Larry Wallace, Jeff Davis, and John Kieck, after a particularly poor experience with a bank in Venice, California. The men decided that they wanted to create a smaller bank that had the same convenience of a large bank but better customer service. They acquired a building, hired employees, and made their personal credit available for loans. From the very beginning, the bank focused on everything that customers wanted from a bank (i.e., customers always speak to a real person, no PPT fees, ability to deposit checks from your phone).
Umpqua Bank is a federally chartered association and is an FDIC member. It is also a member of the CO-OP Network. The network is a group of financial institutions that work together with CUs and other credit unions to create a larger shared liquidity pool. The larger the pool of available funds is, the more competitive rates CUs can offer to their members. Umpqua Bank works with over 7,000 other credit unions to make the larger shared liquidity pool available to its members.
Go-To
In my experience, Umpqua Bank has been a great bank that I’ve been a longtime customer with. They also have a great digital banking experience with their app. The big bank partnerships they have (e.g. Apple and Chase) have been invaluable with helping their members and crypto customers.
Plus, they have a great history of helping the community out by donating to meaningful causes in their neighborhood like helping rebuild the Dam after a devastating wildfire.
Pros and Cons of Umpqua Bank
Here is my honest review of Umpqua Bank. I have all my accounts at Umpqua Bank, and you can read about them in more detail on my blog.
The Pros of Umpqua Bank are:
- Low fees – free accounts (checking and savings)
- Free bill payment
- Industrial-scale ATM network
- Best CD rates (CD laddering)
- Best online banking system
- Reliable mobile banking
- Beautiful branches (this is a must for me because I have to go to a branch at least once or twice a week)
- Loan services (mortgages, car loans, etc.)
- Excellent local customer service
- Incredible credit cards
- Great online service
- Competitive interest rates
- Great staff
Cons depend on how you look at them, but I just don't have any.
Advantages of Umpqua Bank
You can bank online, mobile, or in person, at over 70,000 locations, all for free.
It offers nationally competitive rates on fixed/adjustable mortgages, as well as auto and personal loans, and also has a very competitive interest checking account.
The branch locations are extremely convenient – they have seven days a week! The online banking is hit or miss – while it is strong in security and routing numbers, its easy-to-read format leaves something to be desired.
Its automated phone system and online support are available 7 days a week and are very strong. You will be able to quickly find answers to your questions, and you will find support very responsive. Even better, in-person times are flexible and convenient – since it is a national credit union, there is no reason to dread branch operations.
Umpqua Bank is also a full-service credit union, which is the best type of credit union there is – it is more financially sound than the community or loan banks.
They offer a low-cost financial products platform, called ‘Umpqua Navigator (online banking)’ that has tools and resources to help you find investment information and choose among their stable of low-cost investment products and financial services, including personal loans.
Disadvantages of Umpqua Bank
The Bottom Line
Umpqua is certainly a strong contender. For most personal banking accounts, it offers some competitive rates on its banking products. It provides easy access to ATMs as well as outstanding customer service.
Pros
- Authentic products, including automatic savings account
- Low fees
- Solid customer satisfaction scores from J.D. Power
- Strong financial position
- Growing credit union
- 24/7 customer service
- Easy online access
- Great mobile banking
- Good free features
- Deposits insured by the NCUA
- Advantages for those who are interested in opportunities in the nonprofit sector
- Membership is easy to come by
- Free VISA credit card
- Generous reward program
Cons
- No brick-and-mortar branches
- No loans
- Restricted products
- Poor call center
- Few ATM locations