FIRST VIETNAMESE AMERICAN BANK

[CNN]

FIRST VIETNAMESE AMERICAN BANK ANNOUNCES GRAND OPENING IN WESTMINSTER CALIF
First Vietnamese American Bank is the Nation’s First Vietnamese Owned- and -Managed Bank; Demonstrates Commitment to Helping Community Grow and Prosper

WESTMINSTER, CALIF., May 11, 2005 – First Vietnamese American Bank, the nation’s only Vietnamese-owned and -managed bank, has announced its official grand opening at 8990 Westminster Blvd, in the Little Saigon area of Westminster, Calif.

The grand opening event and will occur Friday, May 20th from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The event will include a ribbon cutting ceremony, along with remarks by Mr. Howard Gould, Commissioner of Financial Institutions and Dr. Hieu T. Nguyen, President & CEO of First Vietnamese American Bank and other activities. The event can be viewed live online at www.fvab.com, registering online prior to the event is recommended.

Additionally, Monday, May 23rd to Friday, May 27th from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. there will be an open house for the public, which will offer refreshments, provide information on the bank’s services, and give tours of the bank facility.

“Since the bank’s inception, there has been an overwhelmingly positive response from the community,” said Dr. Hieu T. Nguyen, “First Vietnamese American Bank was designed to fulfill the largely unmet financial needs of the 300,000-strong Southern California Vietnamese population. Additionally, the bank is committed to helping the local community grow and prosper.”

According to Dr. Nguyen, the Vietnamese community has expressed a strong desire for education as to how it can fully maximize the US Banking system in order to advance personal and business goals. In reponse to this need, the bank has undertaken a number of exciting initiatives. First it has created a unique structural design for its banking office where walls will be pulled down after hours, converting the lobby into a community center. This friendly meeting room is free to the public for conducting evening or weekend meetings and seminars that benefit the local community. The second public-minded initiative is the bank’s continuing presentation of the “Money Smart Program” developed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in a Vietnamese language version. The “Money Smart Program” is designed to educate its Vietnamese audience on how to best employ bank products in beneficial ways. Nguyen has been devoted to teaching this 10-week program for the past six months and continues to participate in a radio talk show, “Little Saigon Radio,” every Wednesday night to bring “Money Smart” to the community. Now that the bank has opened, the classes will be held regularly at First Vietnamese American Bank, in its new community center.

Bank Services Information

The bank will provide important financial services for consumers and businesses such as personal or business checking and savings accounts, business lines and loans, real estate loans, SBA loans, personal loans, money transfers and other financial services to small- to medium-sized businesses as well as the professional community.
Additionally, First Vietnamese American Bank will serve the financing needs of small- to medium- sized importers and exporters, particularly those firms located in and adjacent to surrounding Vietnamese, Korean and Hispanic communities. The bank’s Trade Finance and International Banking Division’s experienced experts offer a full array of competitively priced products including letters of credit, documentary collections, money transfers and export financing under U.S. Exim Bank and SBA programs.

First Vietnamese American Bank Board of Directors and Management Team

To reflect its mission to serve the Vietnamese community along with other ethnic communities, the multi-ethnic Board of Directors is comprised of five Vietnamese-Americans including Alex Hoang, Joe Keleman, Dr. Chan Kieu, Lynn Loan Nguyen and Dr. Hieu T. Nguyen. It also includes three Americans, Sonny Ada, Arthur Birtcher and Walter Hannen, and one Japanese, Masao Tsuzura. The Bank has an experienced management team with Dr Hieu T. Nguyen as President & CEO with 25 years in banking, John Podlesni, CFO with 33 years in banking and Doug Shearer as CCO with more than 33 years in banking and Binh Hoang as Head of Trade Finance and International Banking Division with 26 years in banking. First Vietnamese American Bank is Westminster’s only Vietnamese-owned and -managed local bank.

For information, contact First Vietnamese American Bank at 714-894-3105 or visit our website at http://www.fvab.com.

CNN