VIST Financial
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VIST Financial Corp., a publicly traded company (Nasdaq:VIST) is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, providing banking, insurance, investment, and mortgage services throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania.[1]
Prior to its rebranding in March 2008, VIST Financial was known as Leesport Financial Corp., with seven subsidiaries: Leesport Bank, Madison Bank, Essick & Barr Insurance, The Boothby Group, Madison Insurance Consultants, Madison Financial Advisors, and Philadelphia Financial Mortgage.
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[edit] History
The company opened on August 16, 1909 as The First National Bank of Leesport, located along the Centre Turnpike (later known as Route 61) in Leesport, as a community bank focused on providing the banking needs for its neighbors. FNBL was actually one of the only banks allowed by the Federal government to remain open during the Great Depression. In 1961, the bank opened its second office, in Blandon, and it would be another twenty-seven years before the bank added a third location (in Wyomissing, at the site of the former Alfie’s Restaurant). In 1994, the bank opened its Northeast Reading office near Albright College and an office in Phoebe Berks Village for staff and residents. 1998 saw the beginning of a phase of accelerated expansion in the bank’s market area, with offices in Hamburg(1998), Bern Township (1999), Breezy Corner (1999), Exeter (2000), Birdsboro (2002), and Sinking Spring (2003) opening in a five year span. Also during that time, in the summer of 2001, the company relocated to its current headquarters location at 1240 Broadcasting Road in Wyomissing.
In 2001, the bank began expanding beyond the borders of Berks County when it opened an office just to the north in Schuylkill Haven. The company expanded southward into the Philadelphia five-county market in late 2004 when it acquired Madison Bank, with offices in Montgomery County (Blue Bell, Conshohocken, Oaks, and Centre Square), Delaware County (along the Main Line in Strafford, and Philadelphia County (Fox Chase).
When the bank moved from its hostoric location at 133 North Centre Avenue in Leesport, it donated the clock that had stood outside the office since 1919 to the Leesport Historical Society. The clock was refurbished and todays stands in downtown Leesport.[2]
[edit] Beyond Banking
In 1998, passage of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act was imminent, allowing banks, insurance companies, and brokerages to expand into one another’s services. Leesport Financial was one of the first banks in the nation to enter the insurance market through its acquisition of one of the oldest insurance agencies in Berks County, Essick & Barr Insurance (formed in Reading in 1891).[3][4]
Offering personal and commercial property & casualty, life, and group health insurance as well as employee benefits allowed Leesport Financial and Essick & Barr to offer a wider menu of financial services to their customers, the beginning of the full-service one-stop-shop model the company employs to this day. Seeking to broaden its insurance and employee benefits offerings throughout the market, the company acquired the Montgomery County based Boothby Group (an agency founded in 1987 to provide insurance to high-end personal and commercial clients across the country), CrosStates Insurance Consultants (an agency focused on personal property & casualty insurance, later renamed Madison Insurance Consultants), and Fisher Benefits Consulting (located in Pottstown) between 2002 and 2008.
In 1999, the company rounded out its financial services offerings with the acquisition of an investment brokerage and advisory firm, Johnson Financial Group. Now truly a one-stop-shop for financial services for individuals, businesses, and non-profits, the company added to its investment division with the 2002 acquisition of First Affiliated Investment Group (both firms were later combined under the name Madison Financial Advisors).
[edit] Rebranding As VIST Financial
2008 was a momentous year for the company. With all the pieces assembled for a full-service financial services company, Leesport Financial and its seven subsidiaries undertook a total rebranding and unification. On March 3, 2008, the company publicly unveiled its new name and brand: VIST Financial.[5]
[edit] Locations
VIST Financial has its corporate headquarters in Wyomissing, PA, as well as its regional headquarters in Blue Bell, PA.
VIST Bank is chartered in the state of Pennsylvania, and currently operates in the Southeastern part of the state with offices in Bern Township, Birdsboro, Blandon, Blue Bell, Breezy Corner, Centre Square, Conshohocken, Exeter, Fox Chase, Hamburg, Leesport, Northeast Reading, Oaks, Schuylkill Haven, Sinking Spring, Strafford, and Wyomissing[6]
VIST Insurance is a licensed Pennsylvania insurance agency (also holding licenses in a number of other states) with offices in: Blue Bell, Pottstown, Schuylkill Haven and Wyomissing
VIST Capital Management is a licensed brokerage and advisory firm (Securities and certain investment advisory products are offered by UVEST Financial Services, member FINRA/SIPC and an SEC registered investment advisor; certain investment advisory products are offered by VIST Capital Management, an SEC registered investment advisor; UVEST and VIST Capital Management are independent entities; *Not FDIC Insured*Not Bank Guaranteed*May Lose Value*) with offices in Blue Bell and Wyomissing
VIST Mortgage offers residential mortgage services (including conventional, jumbo, swing, FHA/VA, First Time Buyer, and other loan programs) with offices in Bern Township, Blue Bell, Exeter, Reading, Schuylkill Haven, Sinking Spring, and Wyomissing
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.snl.com/Irweblinkx/doc.aspx?IID=100598&DID=7551169
- ^ http://www.leesportareahistory.org/Portals/0/FirstSocietyProjectCompleted.pdf
- ^ http://banking.senate.gov/conf/
- ^ http://www.secinfo.com/dsVSq.73z.d.htm
- ^ http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS143680+20-Mar-2008+PRN20080320
- ^ http://www.vistfc.com/atms-locations
