One Response To Turmoil: Ads To Calm, Differentiate

americanbanker.com — Banks are ramping up public relations efforts to calm consumers panicked by the credit crisis - and to distinguish themselves from the string of big-name institutions that have gone out of business.

Raymond P. Davis, the chief executive officer of Umpqua Holdings Corp. in Portland, Ore., posted a letter to customers Monday on the $8.3 billion-asset company's Web site and at teller counters in its branches.

"Although the current environment is unlike anything we've seen in many years, it's important to remember that it won't last forever," Mr. Davis wrote. "And we will continue to operate our company as we have for five decades - as a community bank committed to serving the communities we serve with financial resources that help them grow."