Foster Bank opens in Safeway shopping center

Annandale came a bit closer to being a financial center for the region with the opening of a Foster Bank branch June 1.

Foster Bank was established in Chicago in 1989 by a group of Korean-Americans. It has seven branches in Chicago and a loan production office in Atlanta. The Annandale bank, between the Miso restaurant and Radio Shack in the Safeway shopping center on Little River Turnpike, is the first retail branch outside Chicago.

About 50 people attended the opening ceremony, including Foster’s President and CEO Paul Byungtag Kim and several company officials from Chicago. The event featured a ribbon cutting, speeches (mostly in Korean), refreshments, gift bags, lots of flowers, and a blessing by Foster director Paul Park, who called for a commitment to “financial honesty and ethical standards.”

Kim introduced Yong Sun Kenney (below, in the black and white jacket), who left her job as branch manager of the Bank of America branch across the parking lot, on the corner of Little River Turnpike and Markham Street, to become Foster’s regional manager in Virginia. Three other former Bank of America employees now work at the new Foster Bank.

In addition to the usual financial instruments, like checking accounts, money markets, small business loans, and IRAs, Foster offers customized savings installment plans called “new life savings accounts,” says Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer James G. Gorst. These accounts, popular in Korea, allow customers to set a savings goal of at least $1,000 and contribute a set amount each month.

Annandale Central Business District Planning Committee Chair Dan McKinnon (third from the right) welcomed the Foster Bank officials and encouraged the bank to invest in the redevelopment of Annandale. He says Annandale has about a dozen banks, and Foster is the third bank catering to an Asian population.

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