Arizona Republic
July 6, 2007
By Jennifer Kitson

Affluent find Haven in Legacy Bank

Amid a palate of deep desert color, four leather chairs sit in front of a large plasma television mounted on a wall.

The refreshment counter is dark wood.

At first glance, you might forget that you had walked into a local bank.

After two years in business, Legacy Bank has opened a new location in north Scottsdale at The Marketplace in DC Ranch, 20909 N. 90th Place, Suite 102.

“We believed that the affluent market had been underserved in this north Scottsdale area, and our results to date would seem to bear that out,” Legacy President and Chief Executive Officer Julian Fruhling said.

Legacy Bank opened its first office in January 2005 in the Scottsdale Airpark at 15100 N. 78th Way.

The bank is a private institution designed specifically to cater to affluent clientele in the Phoenix metropolitan area.

“Legacy’s total focus is on affluent clients and the businesses they own,” Fruhling said. “Wealthy clients are seldom satisfied with “canned” products and services offered by broad-based financial organizations and need to feel that their banker is comfortable dealing with their world.”

At 3,600 square feet, the building in north Scottsdale also contains several teller stations, private banker offices, a conference room and a concierge.

“I believe we’ve succeeded in creating a sophisticated, yet comfortable, high-end financial environment for our affluent clients, when they choose to visit,” said Scott Morrison, a private banker and Legacy’s senior vice president.

The interior decoration of the new office is the work of Loewen Design Group.

The building was designed by Architecture and Associates.

Salcito Custom Homes completed the construction.

Staffed with experienced private bankers, Fruhling said Legacy Bank offers extensive financial planning and flexible customer service.

Bankers will meet clients anywhere in the nation if necessary, and office hours are flexible, depending on the need of the customer, Fruhling said.

Legacy bank also distributes remote deposit machines to clients so that transactions can be completed by connecting the device to a USB port.

Fruhling said that although other banks distribute these machines, the recipients are primarily businesses, whereas Legacy Bank provides them for personal use.

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