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Tomato Bank (Chinese: 宏基銀行), more commonly styled as TomatoBank, was an overseas Chinese bank in the United States. Headquartered in Alhambra, California, with branch offices in Cerritos, California, Diamond Bar, California, Industry, California, and West Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, this privately held community bank was first established on September 29, 2000. It was merged into Royal Business Bank in 2016 and branches were renamed to Royal Business Bank.[1]
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Finance and Insurance |
| Founded | Alhambra, California, (2000) |
| Defunct | 2016 |
| Successor | Royal Business Bank |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles County, California |
Key people | David Pontifes (SVP Senior Deputy Administrator) Li Chen Herman (President) Chris Chan (CFO) Ellen Guerrero (HR) |
| Products | Banking |
The bank was established to serve the local Chinese community, but unlike those traditional overseas Chinese banks in the United States established earlier, a significant portion of the Tomato Bank clientele were wealthy Chinese immigrants either engaged in international trade and real estate business, or professionals.
One unique feature of the bank was that unlike other banks, the bank's founder was a physician instead of a businessperson: Dr. Stephen Liu. Dr. Liu's experience in banking included being a member of the board of American International Bank.
The bank originally adopted several names, including InterBusiness Bank, Inter Business Bank, Tomato Bank, and Acer Bank. However, customer surveys revealed that the name Tomato Bank was most popular, partially because it was easy to remember. As explained by the former Chairman and CEO, Dr. Stephen Liu, at a business reception in mid-2006:
It is an attractive brand name that brings to mind images of growth, multi-culture and health, all characteristics that represent who we are and what we strive to achieve. But most importantly, it is a brand that is recognizable and hard to forget. If there can be an Apple Computer - why not a Tomatobank? Try to forget it. You can't!
The bank was acquired by Royal Business Bank in February 2016.[2] It is not related to the Japanese Tomato Bank.
References
edit- ^ "In Merger, Interesting Name of TomatoBank to Disappear | Los Angeles Business Journal". labusinessjournal.com. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
- ^ "News 2-19-16 - English". www.royalbusinessbankusa.com. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
