Don Marek became Fremont Bank’s president August 1, 2024. He previously served the bank as Senior Vice President and Commercial Banking Executive.
Recently, I spoke with the new top executive of Fremont Bank. Marek shared the interesting history of the bank, the institution’s people-focused values and its inclusive approach to serving the community.
Marek explained that Fremont Bank was founded 60 years ago by Morris Hyman. Hyman grew up in Natchez, Mississippi. He served in World War II on the GI bill and earned his law degree at Stanford. Hyman really embraced family and brought the southern hospitality tradition with him when he and his wife settled in Fremont.
Morris Hyman’s father had a construction company that was shut down because of a missed payment. Morris felt like that’s something that you never want to see happen to people. This experience drove Hyman’s desire for a bank that would really be there for the community. Hyman saw the need to have a locally controlled, locally owned bank that served the people.
“Going forward it’s that southern hospitality, that locally owned bank for the local community that has really been our brand. We stayed true to that as part of our mission here at the bank,” said Marek.
Marek holds two bachelor degrees in history and economics from UCLA and an MBA from the Anderson School of Management at UCLA. Marek started his banking career in 2009 as the manager of Fremont Bank’s commercial portfolio, drawing from his extensive experience in commercial real estate. Marek has held numerous executive management roles during his 15 years at Fremont Bank.
Fremont Bank has a rich history of serving the community in many ways not found at other banks. Retirement planning, college savings plans, estate settlements and small business loans are some examples of how Fremont Bank creates lasting customer relationships.
“As we look ahead we certainly want to continue to strengthen and add further depth of our relationships within our current footprint and our current communities that we serve,” said Marek.
The Fremont Bank Foundation and Fremont Bank Corporate Giving Program help support local nonprofits that improve the quality of life in the communities served by the bank. Fremont Bank gives at least 5% of its pretax profit to nonprofits.
“Part of who we are over the last 60 years has been creating this ecosystem within our communities where everybody benefits by having more predictable, healthy financial situations,” said Marek.
Fremont Bank philanthropy has assisted thousands of community efforts over the years. This has included grants to Newark Symphonic Winds and East Bay Bicycle Coalition. The bank sponsored New Haven Unified School District robotics programs and funded the Niles Centerville Little League snack shack.
Fremont Bank is also providing a significant contribution for Axis Community Health to establish a new clinic that will provide health and wellness services to 5,600 additional patients.
“The groups that we support are right here in our community,” said Marek.
Home ownership in the Bay Area has become increasingly difficult for the average family. Unlike other larger banks, Fremont Bank allows clients to have a relationship with a local loan officer. The unique job title for these helpful loan agents is ‘relationship loan officer.’
Marek said, “We’ve got residential loan officers that sit in our branches that are available over the phone. They live here in our communities, they work here. They’re very much aware of the market and they offer the ability to be able to sit down with you, with the family and discuss goals and discuss the options.”
Fremont Bank has mortgage products that can require 3% down payment of the purchase price and they can partner with various entities that offer down payment assistance programs. “The down payment assistance programs are pretty remarkable. They’re there to really kind of help these families realize their dreams of home ownership,” said Marek.
Fremont Bank holds close to $6B in assets and is headquartered in Fremont with a large operations campus in Livermore and 21 branches throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Forty-nine banks opened in California when Hyman founded Fremont Bank in 1964. Fremont bank is the only one that’s still open and independently owned.
Fremont Bank celebrated its 60th anniversary with the opening of its new headquarters on Fremont Boulevard in June. Marek said, “The growth of our flagship branch is really important for the overall growth in the tri-cities area. We remain committed to that area. It’s great to be part of that whole kind of resurgence of the downtown core.”
Fremont Bank has grown by consistently adding new local customers, and never acquiring other banks. “We really do believe that to stay true to the community, that vision, that we have to be hyper local. We stay independent and we also grow the same way we’ve always grown, so no interest really in acquiring another bank,” said Marek.
Marek is a fan of Fremont. “Fremont stays very close to my heart. I married into a Fremont family. My wife’s a third generation Fremont resident and her grandfather, Hugh Block, was mayor of Fremont in the late ‘60s,” said Marek. “I love the diversity, the diversity of people, the diversity of the economy. It’s got great quality of life, Lake Elizabeth, all the great cultural elements to the city.”
