Most readers of the BBBBlog know that I graduated from UNM in May of 2008 with a Bachelor's Degree in Finance. The Monday after graduation I started work at First Federal Bank as a Commercial Credit Analyst. Basically, when a business wanted a loan from our bank I would analyze the businesses' tax returns and financial statements and help make a decision as to whether or not we should loan them money.
Staring at tax returns and crunching numbers all day long was interesting (for a while), but a few weeks ago another opportunity opened up. The Branch Manager at our branch left unexpectedly and my boss told me that he wanted me to apply for the job. There are several aspects of this job that I don't have any experience with, including working with deposits, producing loans, and managing workers, but I feel like it could be a very good experience for me.
Well, I've just completed my first full week as the newest Branch Manager at the First Federal Bank. It was a crazy first week on the job--our deposits were up 22% and I'd like to take all the credit for the deposit growth, but most of it has to do with the awesome employees we have at the branch and a recent bank failure in Albuquerque that has driven a lot of deposits our way.
On a related note, First Federal has now been owned by Washington Federal Savings for three years and we are finally going to be changing our name over. I'll keep you posted (with pictures) as we get new paint and new signs at the branch.
I've got a lot to learn over the next few weeks and months, but I'm really excited for the opportunity and the challenge. Let me know if any of you need a CD, a checking account or if you need a mortgage loan!
