Jackson Hole, Wyo.-As a local bank gave way to corporate giant, some customers were miffed.

The fact that two other local banks are seeing an increase in accounts cannot be entirely attributed to that dissatisfaction, but it is a factor.

Last month Wyoming Bancorp and Jackson State Bank and Trust, which held about 20,000 accounts in Jackson alone, metamorphosed into an arm of Wells Fargo. Long lines, lost or misplaced pin-numbers and a flurry of logistical problems could not be avoided when changing thousands of accounts from one operating system to another, President Pete Lawton said. And once the switch from one system to another is complete, he believes the friction will be eliminated and customers will have better business options, offered by the same local people.

“I think what people will find is there are some additional products that [Wells Fargo] will offer that will be attractive to them, but its going to take a while for people to understand it, and see what those products are,” he said.

In the meantime two local banks, Bank of Jackson Hole and Rocky Mountain Bank, have both seen surges in new accounts. Though representatives from those banks didn’t attribute their success directly to the Wells Fargo conversion, they both said it was a factor.

“Business is brisk,” Katie MacKenzie Vice President of Marketing for RMB said. “We’ve had quite a few people coming in and we’re opening our Jackson branch on Broadway and Scott [in a week], and a lot of people have said they will wait and show up as soon as doors open there.”

MacKEnzie said that a number of the banks new customers have recently left Wells Fargo.

“We have a lot of people walking in here and saying, ‘can you just call [Wells Fargo] and move all of my accounts over for me,” MacKenzie said. “People have been angry about how they’re screwing up accounts or lost information or standing in line for two hours in their lobby.”

Bank of Jackson Hole CEO Scott Yandell said that his bank has seen about 1,300 new accounts in the last two months. For a bank with between 12,000 and 14,000 accounts, that is a significant increase in a customer base. Yandell said that Bank of Jackson Hole usually sees around 200 new accounts a month.

“We certainly have seen a lot of new customers and a lot of new accounts,” Yandell said. “I’d like to think it’s a combination of the marketplace and our marketing, and certainly the change [from JSBT to Wells Fargo] has been one of the factors, I can’t deny that.”

Yandell said the campaign hasn’t been intended to sway any customers away from other banks, but to say, “If your thinking about changing, here we are and look at us.” 

The advertisements, taken out in the News and Guide and Jackson Hole Daily, feature locals like the owners of Skinny Skis or Chinatown, with slogans like “We’re independent, so you can be too.”

“What we’ve been trying to do is market the strengths of our Bank,” Yandell said. “We’ve been here a long time, we’re still giving that personal service and that’s what we’re trying to highlight; not that we’re different or better, but ‘this is who we are.’ That’s been our tact and I think that’s been showing some fruit.”

But Wells Fargo is insisting that once the change is complete, they will be just as local as they were when the Tetons graced their debit cards.

Lawton said that some of the corporate protocol that might have caused people to react – like having to show two forms of ID to get cash back on a check deposit – will be amended once the conversion process is over, he said. 

An email from Sharon Larson, Wells Fargo project manager, also highlighted a number of new products offered by the bank, and included the compelling argument that “customers will find that being able to bank at 3,300 locations and having access to 6,900 ATMs in 23 states is an advantage when traveling.”

But the folks at Wells Fargo don’t want people to think they have to give up local flavor to have the financial products and convenience of banking around the region or country

“Our goal is to have the big town business capabilities with the small town flavor,” Larson said. PJH