Fremont Bank

We had one of the best banking experience with Fremont Bank. Annmarie (loan officer) was awesome and very helpful. She understood our needs and provided the best option for us. After our application was submitted, we received a call from another staff (Denise) who processed and was our primary contact for the loan. She provided excellent customer service and follow-​up. She made sure our documentations submitted properly and notified us immediately throughout the process. Our interactions from the beginning, middle, and to the end of closing (Mohammed) were the deciding factor for banking with Fremont Bank. We gave it a thumbs up because of their friendly staff and truly no cost loan process.

I refinanced with Fremont bank a couple years ago when rates hit a nice low. It was a true «no cost» loan as they picked up ALL the costs except for the lender pay off fee, which was pretty small. The «application fee» they charged was refunded at closing. The refi process wasn’t any easier, better, or worse than any others we did in the past.
However, since we have had our loan, the servicing has been just OK. They are minimal about sending a statement showing our balance. Recently noticed we were down to our last payment coupon, and wondered why they hadn’t sent a new book yet. Called them up and their response is they don’t send out a new book until they get the last coupon. Wha? They said the code to tell the computer to send out a new book is on that last coupon. Cutting it a little close! Why not have the code printed on the third from the last one, just in case the coupons get delayed in the mail. There have been other minor, annoying things about Fremont’s servicing our loan, though nothing major
In all the different mortgages we’ve had (West Star, Chase Manhattan, Countrywide, B of A), I never even THOUGHT about the servicing company… until our loan with Fremont bank. It’s not a bad servicing company, but preferred my previous banks.
*4−17−15 Update*
After speaking to someone at the bank, I was switched over to a monthly, no extra charge statement, similar to what I had enjoyed at my previous lenders. I appreciate Fremont Bank’s attention and flexibility in this matter :-).

This bank has great customer service every time I come in and would recommend this branch in San Francisco Bay Area.

Great customer service! My banking requests are always taken care of and on a timely manner. Always a pleasure visiting the branch and see smiles and friendly faces!

Paula, Jodi and the rest of the team are great.
My previous bank and Fremont Bank were incredibly similar except one thing: you can actually talk to someone who knows you when you call! I know that sounds small, but if there is ever a problem, or you have a question you have someone you can trust. Unlike getting a call tree or someone you have never met, her team goes above and beyond to help you out. They are incredibly responsive, and you feel like you have a personal banker at all times.
I am so glad that I made the switch. Totally worth it!

Amazing service! Great clean location. This is one of my favorite branches.
The employees are very polite and greet you personally by your name when you come in.
Customer service is very courteous and willing to help and answer any questions.

I am a filmmaker and my new film ‘House of Temptation’ is coming out on June1. I was invited by Paula to come and visit the branch and see what kind of services they offer for local business owners. When I went to the bank, I was greeted by friendly and courteous people which made me feel very welcome. They asked me if I wanted tea or coffee while I was waiting. That was very kind and I started to notice the great customer service they provide to anybody who enters their door.
Paula came in to greet me very soon and I was escorted to her room. She is very professional and friendly. She is a good listener. She came up with solutions for my business. They are definitely not a bank who does not listen. Because most of the banks I have been to, will say «we would love to help you but our policies don’t allow us to do this». Most of the banks are like that. They want to call themselves community banks but they are not. But its definitely not the case with Fremont Bank. I read about their founder and all the great community work he has done really impressed me. Paula also promised to help me with my movie première and she gives me prompt replies to my email. She is on top of everything.
GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE and TRUE LISTENER. I would highly recommend Fremont Bank.

Highly recommend Fremont Bank! Branch Manager Paula Eng and her staff have helped out a lot of my clients with atty-​client trust accounts, cashier’s checks, banking questions, etc. My clients and I were especially happy that when you call the bank, you get connected to an actual live person. Also like that there are no long lines, staff greets you when you walk in the door and indoor parking garage too.

Paula Eng (Branch Manager) and her staff have figured customer service out:
Friendly, courteous and prompt service.
The folks at SoMa branch answer the phone within a few rings without the annoyingly long hold times. They know their customers by first name and offer personalized service tailored for your personal and professional banking needs.
They have many of the bells and whistles of the major banks and one amazingly AWEOME feature none of the others have for their small business account:
Deposit pickup within 30 miles of the branch!
This SINGLE BENEFIT allows me to travel the world (writing this from Lima, Peru) and still have money to spend!
Thanks Fremont Bank! And South America thanks you too!

I am very happy with this branch of Fremont Bank. They were a life saver when helping me set up my first business account. Their lobby is clean, there is free water and coffee and Jody is always cheery and ready to help. I also like that there is no rush feeling when with the tellers (even when it really is quick!) and you are both seated across from each other.
We did have to play a little phone tag and do an extra run over to the branch since they didn’t have a scanner to send me the form, but other than that, they have been a great place for my banking!

Clearly one of the nicest banks in the city! Great customer service, friendly people. Makes you feel like home!

Always great service from the folks at this branch. I am in and out quickly every time I visit. And it’s like Cheers… where everyone knows your name!

Absolutely love this branch!!! Paula, Jody, Rose, and Jimmy make the best team and it’s always a pleasure coming in here. Great service and feels so welcoming! They def don’t treat me like «just a number». Highly recommend this team!!!

On the positive side, Fremont Bank offers great free refinancing, if you have excellent credit. I refinanced my home loan, got a much better interest rate, for no cost. Later, when I tried to refinanced a second time and turned out I could not do it, they refunded me the application cost (which was about $ 800), which they didn’t have to do. In gratitude for that refund, I switched my banking from Wells Fargo to Fremont.
But, alas, in the 12 months I have had my Fremont Bank checking account, two deposits have been entered erroneously. One deposit had an error of $ 100. It was easily corrected with one phone call. The second deposit was for $ 52,619. It was entered $ 52,419…AND it was entered as a DEBIT! Yikes. It looks like there is a correction in process already (I just discovered it on-​line five minutes ago), though the correction is not yet complete as I write this review, so I’m still lacking $ 40,000 from my account. It is clearly a bank error and I am optimistic that when I call them tomorrow, it will be resolved quickly.
However, I am still writing this review because it’s just not acceptable to have bank errors on two deposits within 12 months, if ever. I had my checking account with Wells Fargo for 25 years, and they never, ever made an error, at all, on anything.
On a lesser note, I did not find the service at Fremont Bank to be better than at Wells Fargo. Actually, it was slightly not as good. The first and only time I visited Fremont Bank’s office in San Leandro, in February 2013, I was the only customer in the bank… and I waited about 30 seconds (I counted) before asking the teller if she was available. The teller was engaged with her smart phone and hadn’t noticed me. 30 seconds may not sound like much, but it really is when you’re the only customer in the bank and the only reason you’re waiting is because someone just hasn’t looked up from their smart phone. It was definitely irritating. I was there to make a big deposit and I felt like, look, I’m giving you guys a huge chunk of money, and you can’t even look up from your smart phone? Once I got her attention, the teller was fine. But, again, I never have that experience at Wells Fargo. I’ve been to the Wells Fargo office on Shattuck and San Pablo in Berkeley several times, and the tellers always signal promptly when they’re available and you don’t wait while someone is on their smart phone.

Great customer service and a quick turn around!
Elizabeth helped me with financing that needed to close quickly inside of 30 days and helped guide me through the financing process. She made recommendations on alternate funding sources outside of the traditional Fannie/​Freddie options.

I have had the best working relationship with the manager at this branch, Paula Eng, and also Maricel.
As a local business owner, I know that I am not an expert in everything, and that I need to rely on other professionals. That is where Paula and Maricel come in. There have been more than a few times where I am about to make a stupid mistake, and instead of just blindly processing it, a REAL PERSON helps me.
I am so glad to be done with big banks.

Banks are suppose to have good customer service, right? This place has the WORST I have experienced. With more employees than customers, their employees shouldn’t be making personal phone calls when there are people waiting. This is my first experience with this bank and will be the last. For a business that is dealing with people’s money, professionalism is obviously not a concern of theirs.

I have been working with other banks before, but Fremont Bank was able to process our refinance within a short time. The staff, loan processer, mortgage agent, and the supervisor team were on top of the process.
I was able to get update statuses everytime I called. Nick, Amparo, and Neetu, you guys have provided a superior service to us for this transaction. I highly recommend them. Thanks.

I heart Femont Bank. I never thought I would be saying that about a bank, but this branch is so on top of their customer service game that you will literally love banking with them. Maricel helped us open our first business account and has been one of our biggest cheerleaders ever since we met her. It is truly a pleasure to work with them.

My experience with Fremont Bank has been extremely bad. Paula Eng (branch manager for this location) tried to make things right, but she didn’t — she really, really didn’t. I wanted to bank at a small local bank with good customer service — that’s who they said they were, but they aren’t. Try someplace else.