First Republic Bank

The service at this First Republic Bank is second to none. Leah Soumeck is so personable, professional and always goes above and beyond in the realm of customer service. Jackie, Ryan, Cesar and Brian all go out of their way to make the customer happy. There have been many occasions that I have come in with hungry, tired kids and the staff is so kind to them. They actually want to go to the bank with me because they get spoiled with fresh baked cookies, bottled water and sometimes toys! Unbelievable. I also have my mortgage with them and always receive the best service and prompt responses. I trust this bank which I think is a rarity in today’s world.

Life is really all about relationships. First Republic banks on creating a lasting relationship by providing faultless service. Admittedly some of the deposit rates are not as high as some, the ability to call or walk in to any branch and receive first-​rate service trumps any shortcoming of deposit return. I have never had a problem they could not resolve in one phone call in the 20 years of our banking relationship. The CC staff bankers are wonderful, friendly and truly capable of handling all the banking needs of my family.

We have worked with nearly every bank around, and nearly all have annoyed me (seriously!) and none have impressed me, in the way that First Republic has. Particularly Ryan in banking, and Kerry in loans, are just outstanding. Their responsiveness alone sets them apart. Other banks offer «personal bankers» but we have never felt attentiveness in the way we’d expect from a personal banker in the way we have gotten from Ryan. He makes us feel like he understands our account, advocates on our behalf, and really goes above and beyond in service. First Republic offers a great overall experience, and treats us like valued customers.

I started using First Republic Bank last year as my Bank and I wish I starter sooner. They are a fantastic bank that takes excellent care of my accounts. It is easy to get through for help, and they have helped us upgrade to a remote access machine that save us a lot of time on our deposits. We are a Real Estate company and First Republic Bank has made us more efficient with our banking. Thanks to Rafi, Matthew and Carolyn for the great help for our business.

Bank bank

One word: WINNING.
Amazing customer service. Brian, Jackie, Ryan, Cesar, and Leah go above and beyond for our company. Always available and very communicative.
High-​fives and five stars for all of them.

I have no idea why the reviews are so bad for this bank. Maybe Ryan just spoils me with excellent customer service skills, responsiveness and positive demeanor. Ryan Rocks!
UPSIDE:
Personnal banking! I call my banker directly and don’t go through an automated system. I walk in and Ryan greets me by first name, his other colleagues are always willing to help, but frankly I prefer to wait, have a cookie and wait for Ryan.
This is not your typical bank– there are no lines, no bullet proof glass, every banker has a desk with guest chairs. This is premium banking with premium service. Not some bank corralling you to the next teller that does not know you. No crying babies and or people talking loud on their phones. This branch is the benchmark of what banking should be. It’s professional banking with dignity regardless of how minimal your transactions maybe.
The freshly baked cookies are good too. And if they run low, they are willing to bake a fresh batch. I love it!
DOWNSIDE:
The product suite is limited and can be limiting especially if you are not a high net worth customer.
Locations are limited.

The rebate program became bogus when I needed it most on vacation in Mexico. They rejected my card and when I called them from there, they took forever on the phone and finally told me I had never activated my card and that they had no trace of it on their system! They should have just admitted the $ 8 ATM fee is too much for them. lol. I told them I had used my card a few times in LA with no problems and here they were claiming I had never even activated it.
They don’t have any branches around town, so if you need to withdraw 5k somewhere across town or get a cashiers check, you are screwed.
Their loan fees were pretty terrible and when I asked them to get their commercial loan or Heloc person to call me, I never heard back. This happened twice!
The only thing good about them is a) good parking b) you don’t have to be on your feet while talking to the teller, or c) wait in a line and finally d) talk to the teller from behind a bullet proof plexiglass.
The reality is that people are treated like sh** in almost all banks and yet we are the ones feeding them. They take our money, they don’t even bother invest it, they have others take that risk by lending them the $ and they make money by just being the middle man. The ultimate money-​exchangers.

I can’t say enough good things about First Republic. We banked with them in San Francisco (Laurel Village) and then moved to Los Angeles. We now use the Century City and Beverly Hills offices most frequently. I prefer the Century City office because it has validated parking below the building and it’s convenience. The people are always very polite, respectful and helpful. The cookies are great, too!

This is a very mediocre bank at best and quite unfriendly and hostile bank at worst. Although they are based from San Francisco I am convinced they are not friendly towards gays. I have also experienced xenophobia, I was asked to take my account elsewhere after working with them 10 years because one of the bankers could not keep her appointments to meet me after failing five appointments. And when I complained they said you should go to such and such bank if you don’t like it here, I am a physician and I have never been treated with such disrespect from any bank. Poorly run place and bottom line is see the other complainant they want your money and if there is a loan request they are too rude to deal with and especially some gentleman named Raffe R****cranz is quite unacceptable as a banker maybe he should work in a different field so spiteful and huge liar.

This is a great bank for guys running business checking or depositing money.
Friendly staff, nice people, very nice office.
If you wish to borrow money and use them as a Bank– thats another story.
It took 2 weeks of proactively mailing calling and waiting for feedback for them to tell me they wouldn’t take my loan. Not really a «feel good» experience and not just because of the answer which came as more strange than disappointing.
I have no issue with being told no, but here is whats weird… They told me up front what their metrics were and wouldn’t have bothered with them if I didn’t clear them easily.
I already had another offer to finance «in my pocket», but I wanted to give them a try.
Good bank to put money into and move it around… not a great bank to get money out of.

I had no idea a banking experience like this was possible. After years of being fed up with Bank of America, I looked on Unilocal and other sites and saw this bank was #1 in customer service, so I decided to give it a try.
Here’s why First Republic rules:
1) There are no tellers. It’s all personal bankers sitting behind desks, and they learn your name. I’ve never had to wait in line.
2) I’ve been out of the country several times, and my personal banker has been able to assist me with Stateside transactions via e-​mail. Try that with Bank of America.
3) Though there are not a lot of ATMs or branches, they reverse/​cover ATM fees on both sides of the transaction.
4) They CALL you if a check you wrote is going to bounce, and you can run to the bank and fund your account so the item will clear. BofA sends me a letter in the mail a week after the item is returned.
5) Super nice people. Ryan and Leah at Century City are particularly amazing.
Best banking experience ever. If you are like I was and cringe when you think of your bank, this is what you are looking for. I’ll be transitioning all of my accounts there by year end.

It’s hard to believe that this company is an actual bank. The customer service is first class and they have been so easy to deal with. I have had my business account at First Republic for over eight years now and would highly recommend them. I have had accounts at Wells Fargo, B of A and Citi before but they don’t compare to First Republic. Not even close.

This is the best bank by far! I only hope that they will open one in Chicago where I know live. They rebate all of your ATM fees — period! Is there a reason to bank anywhere else?