First Bank Financial Centre open Brookfield branch

Wisconsin's second-oldest chartered bank opened its second Brookfield branch this week.

First Bank Financial Centre now tallies 12 total branches in the Milwaukee area, with its newest holding a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday morning, Aug. 5, at 12600 W. North Ave.

The new spot will be a full-service branch that will offer everything from commercial lending to mortgage lending.

"Any customer can go in there and expect service," First Bank Financial Centre President and CEO Mark Mohr said.

First Bank Financial Centre has close ties with the City of Brookfield, currently helping in the effort to revitalize the old village area by offering qualifying loans of up to $25,000 at one percent interest to small businesses in the village area.

"Everything we do is local, so that's the experience that a customer has," Mohr said. "We like to get involved in the community and we want to get to know the communities on a personal level."

Mohr says that First Bank Financial Centre is in somewhat of a growth spurt, with the company adding over 100 employees and five new branches in the last six years.

"We've had a lot of good growth," Mohr said. "Over the last three years, we've originated over $1 billion in loans."

First Bank Financial Centre also recently finished renovations on its headquarters in Oconomowoc. The 25,000 square-foot addition has allowed the company to consolidate all of its corporate employees back under one roof. The company was founded in 1859 and will be celebrating its 155th birthday in September.

Mohr hopes that the new branch will help to offer First Bank Financial Centre's services to residents of Elm Grove and Wauwatosa. He is hesitant to say that a local company is more worthy of servicing Milwaukee-area residents than a national chain, but he does promise good service for those who give them a chance.

"I never like to talk negatively about the competition, but I do think that we offer great service locally," Mohr said. "We take local deposits and lend them out locally. Everything we do is local."