Return to Virginia Business - May 2003

Around the Old Dominion

They even know fido

by Virginia Business Staff
May 2003

At Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust in Old Town Alexandria, tellers know not only their customers by name, but the monikers of their dogs. Service is so personal at Virginia’s oldest hometown bank that Fido is welcome to tag along. “We offer lollipops and dog biscuits at all our branches,” says E. Hunt Burke, president and COO, and a fifth-generation member of the bank’s founding family.

Focusing on customers and their needs has been the bank’s key mission since opening in 1852. While other community banks have failed or been swallowed up by mergers or acquisitions, Burke & Herbert bucks the trend by staying put and prospering in the Old Dominion. Since 1997, its assets have grown by more than 40 percent, from $621 million dollars to more than $1 billion. The bank increased its branches in Northern Virginia from 12 to 15 and grew its work force from 233 to 308. Non-profit magazine Washington Consumer Checkbook rates it No. 1 for customer service.

Virginia Business - May 2003