California Federal Bank
Encyclopedia
California Federal Bank, often abbreviated to "Cal Fed", was a savings and loan bank in California
with the corporate headquarters being located at 5700 Wilshire Boulevard, in Los Angeles
. It existed from 1926 until 2002, when its parent company, Golden State Bancorp, was acquired by Citigroup
, resulting in the bank being merged into Citibank
. Cal Fed first ceased to be an independent banking company after its acquisition in 1997 by First Nationwide Bank of San Francisco, California. First Nationwide Bank changed the name of the new merged banking entity to CalFed Bank due to the appeal of the CalFed brand name. A few years later the bank was bought out by Citigroup.
Prior to the mergers, California Federal Bank was a banking enterprise like no other and under the leadership of Bob Dockson, William Callender and Jerry St. Dennis the bank prospered even in a down economy. They created an environment that attracted top talent in all business areas resulting in the bank being a sought after place of employment in California, Nevada and Florida.
The employees at the corporate offices and at the branch level were a virtual "who's who" of the financial industry. The Human Resources Team and Training Team were legendary in their use of innovative blended learning techniques before the term "blended learning" even existed. Producing their own video training productions in house enabled the bank to communicate the same consistent HR and training messages throughout the corporation.
CalFed spearheaded community involvement by involving employees in many community programs throughout the United States so that they were certain to give back to the communities in which they did business. One example was the civil unrest in downtown Los Angeles, which left many buildings burned. While some businesses left urban areas of Los Angeles and did not return, within a few days California Federal Bank's Watts Branch was re-opened for business to assist the community. Cal Fed was the first and only bank that re-opened in the inner city and began assisting the local community in getting back on its feet.
California Federal Bank was an enterprise like no other and its historic building on Wilshire was one of the original bank corporate headquarters in the Miracle Mile area. The bank had heart and to this day is remembered as one of the top financial enterprises that started in Southern California.
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
with the corporate headquarters being located at 5700 Wilshire Boulevard, in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. It existed from 1926 until 2002, when its parent company, Golden State Bancorp, was acquired by Citigroup
Citigroup
Citigroup Inc. or Citi is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Citigroup was formed from one of the world's largest mergers in history by combining the banking giant Citicorp and financial conglomerate...
, resulting in the bank being merged into Citibank
Citibank
Citibank, a major international bank, is the consumer banking arm of financial services giant Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, later First National City Bank of New York...
. Cal Fed first ceased to be an independent banking company after its acquisition in 1997 by First Nationwide Bank of San Francisco, California. First Nationwide Bank changed the name of the new merged banking entity to CalFed Bank due to the appeal of the CalFed brand name. A few years later the bank was bought out by Citigroup.
Prior to the mergers, California Federal Bank was a banking enterprise like no other and under the leadership of Bob Dockson, William Callender and Jerry St. Dennis the bank prospered even in a down economy. They created an environment that attracted top talent in all business areas resulting in the bank being a sought after place of employment in California, Nevada and Florida.
The employees at the corporate offices and at the branch level were a virtual "who's who" of the financial industry. The Human Resources Team and Training Team were legendary in their use of innovative blended learning techniques before the term "blended learning" even existed. Producing their own video training productions in house enabled the bank to communicate the same consistent HR and training messages throughout the corporation.
CalFed spearheaded community involvement by involving employees in many community programs throughout the United States so that they were certain to give back to the communities in which they did business. One example was the civil unrest in downtown Los Angeles, which left many buildings burned. While some businesses left urban areas of Los Angeles and did not return, within a few days California Federal Bank's Watts Branch was re-opened for business to assist the community. Cal Fed was the first and only bank that re-opened in the inner city and began assisting the local community in getting back on its feet.
California Federal Bank was an enterprise like no other and its historic building on Wilshire was one of the original bank corporate headquarters in the Miracle Mile area. The bank had heart and to this day is remembered as one of the top financial enterprises that started in Southern California.