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Ralph Hamm III, one of Spokane's newest commercial bankers, will have a broad range of work experience on which to draw as he seeks to build relationships with business owners and managers here.
Hamm, 36, who last month became Wells Fargo Bank's commercial banking manager for the Inland Northwest, served in the military after graduating from West Point, managed a restaurant, and played golf professionally before deciding to pursue a career in the financialservices industry. Those experiences, he believes, have given him added insight that should prove beneficial in the role he has taken on here.
Of his pro golf experience in particular, which ended before he could reach the prestigious PGA Tour because he wasn't making enough money, he says, "I understand what it's like for an entrepreneur to identify an endeavor they want to chase and to put all their heart and soul in it."
Hamm succeeds Cliff Lawrence, Wells Fargo's commercial banking manager here for eight years, who moved to Hong Kong in mid-January to become senior manager overseeing all of the bank's commercial banking operations in Asia.
Systemwide, Wells Fargo has been experiencing strong gains in commercial banking activity, contributing to record net income for its San Francisco-based parent, Wells Fargo & Co., of $8.48 billion last year, up 11 percent from 2005.
Hamm declines to provide revenue figures just for the Inland Northwest region, but says they've been growing at a double-digit pace that's on par with or exceeds industry averages. He says further that the Northwest "is one of the strategic geographic areas for Wells Fargo in commercial banking" as it looks to grow that business.
Through its Inland Northwest Commercial Banking Group, located on the ninth floor of the Wells Fargo Financial Center, at 601 W. First, the bank focuses on "middle-market" businesses across Eastern Washington...