BEST BUSINESS BANK
P OPPY BANK
“We try to see where we can really make the biggest impact and where the need is—and then we go all in.” —Khalid Acheckzai, president & CEO
By Sarah Sanford
F or the third year in a row, Santa Rosa- based Poppy Bank has topped the Best Business Bank category in the annual NorthBay biz readers’ poll. The bank also won two Gold Medal awards this year and the Best Company in Sonoma County award. Poppy Bank, which opened its first branch in Santa Rosa in January 2005, has branches located across the San Francisco Bay Area, the Roseville-Sacramento area and Southern California. When asked what sets Poppy Bank apart from its competitors, President & CEO Khalid Acheckzai says, “I think the level of service we provide, the support we provide to the community and our expansion. We are now a $6 billion bank, and we have branches all across the state.” Numerous branches are slated to open in
CEO Khalid Acheckzai, front row center, posed with his 2023 Best Business Community Leader award along with Poppy Bank’s two other Best of the North Bay awards.
2024—San Jose has been the first of the bunch with Calabasas and Carlsbad locations set to open this month. The Pasadena, Santa Monica, Scripps Ranch and downtown Walnut Creek branches will follow with Brea set to open late this year or early 2025. The bank has more than 222 employees as of spring 2024 with the upcoming opening of its 28th branch in Calabasas. It also has loan production offices in Northern and Southern California—as well as in Nevada, Arizona and Texas. Services offered include checking and savings accounts, merchant services, lockboxes, business credit cards, business CDs and more. Federal Small Business Administration and commercial lending products are also available. Poppy Bank has a commitment to supporting clients, assisting the surrounding community and providing quality products and services. So, how does Poppy Bank ensure its employees value relationship building when it comes to clients? “I think it’s a mindset that we try to set at the top—from myself and from our board, from the executive team. It’s engrained in everything we do…that’s how our decisions are made and it’s a culture,” says Acheckzai. Poppy Bank has come to the aid of North Bay businesses and groups during recent crises.
When Sonoma County was impacted by the Tubbs fire in 2017 and many individuals lost their homes, Poppy Bank stepped in and offered home loans to help the community rebuild. During the pandemic, Poppy Bank provided Paycheck Protection Program loans not only to customers but to the entire community— regardless of their banking relationships—to ensure immediate funding was available to local businesses in need. Poppy Bank has also supported schools and nonprofits throughout the years. When Poppy Bank learned that Anova—a school dedicated to serving autistic students—continued to face financing difficulties after the destruction of the fires, Poppy Bank provided the funding needed and created a specialized program to donate the fees back into the school. The bank also provided financing with low fixed-rate interest terms to The Zones—formerly The Boys & Girls Club of Greater Santa Rosa—to be able to expand its services for teenage youth. “We try to see where we can really make the biggest impact and where the need is—and then we go all in,” says Acheckzai. v v
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Best of the North Bay 2024
Northbaybiz 53
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