Questions
Who is First Associations Bank?
Who manages First Associations Bank?
Is First Associations Bank owned by Associa?
Does First Associations Bank provide lock box services?
Is First Associations Bank a state bank or a national bank?
With our deposits being sent to Texas, will this be detrimental to the association's local economy?
Will the associations’ fees be increased?
Answers
Who is First Associations Bank?
FAB is a Bank organized solely to meet the needs of community associations and their management companies. There are many banks which provide services to associations and association management companies, but FAB is the only bank chartered with the sole purpose of serving this industry. We operate in a typical office environment without retail locations and the related expensive overhead. Our business model enables us to focus 100% of our efforts and operational investments on finding the best solutions to meet your unique processing needs.
> Back to top
Who manages First Associations Bank?
Michael Kowalski is CEO of FAB. After working with a multinational accounting firm and specializing in financial institutions, Mr. Kowalski has spent all but 2 of the last 27 years in bank senior management positions (Chairman, CEO, President, COO and CFO). During a two year non-compete period arising from a bank merger, Mr. Kowalski served as CFO of Associa and was directly involved in managing Associa's banking relationships. He was at times frustrated with the inability to obtain high quality, cost effective banking services and began to envision a specialized bank that would provide the required services at little or no cost to the associations.
> Back to top
Is First Associations Bank owned by Associa?
No. Although some Associa officers do own shares in FAB and Associa’s CEO is on the Bank’s Board of Directors, FAB’s ownership group and management team is independent of Associa. Several Associa executives have consulted with the Bank’s management team to identify best banking practices to assist in the development of the Bank’s products and delivery systems.
> Back to top
Does First Associations Bank provide lock box services?
FAB maintains relationships with independent lock box processors throughout the country. The bank utilizes independent lock box processors for two primary reasons. Technology continues to evolve rapidly and independent processors provide state of the art services and competitive pricing. More importantly however, utilizing independent processors provides the Bank AND the management company with greater flexibility. FAB can work with any independent processor and if a management company is happy with their current processing arrangement, there is no need to deal with a time consuming lock box conversion.
> Back to top
Is First Associations Bank a state bank or a national bank?
FAB is chartered in Texas which allows banks to provide any service which is offered by a national bank. Furthermore, FAB is regulated by both the State Banking Department and the FDIC and is held to the same safety and soundness standards as national banks.
> Back to top
With our deposits being sent to Texas, will this be detrimental to the association's local economy?
Absolutely not. Local vendors are still getting paid and FAB stands ready to make loans required by your association. Unlike the large money center banks where money is considered a commodity that is utilized to fund loans typically in the strongest economic markets, FAB will only originate loans to associations that deposit (or will deposit) with FAB.
> Back to top
Will the associations’ fees be increased?
Absolutely not. Banking is a very competitive business and FAB recognizes that we must meet or beat your existing bank pricing. Also, FAB will work continuously with management company personnel to ensure that banking delivery systems become increasingly more efficient for the management company thereby reducing their cost pressures.
> Back to top
