Mechanics Bank

Mechanics Bank is a community banking financial institution headquartered in Richmond, California. It was founded in 1905 and serves markets in Northern California. It operates in the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento areas. The bank has over $2.7 billion in assets and over 700 associates at 33 retail branches.

Background

E.M. Downer (1889–1938) was a prominent official in the town of Pinole who created the "Bank of Pinole", the precursor to Mechanics Bank. In 1909 at the age of 20 E.M. Downer was appointed as Transfer Agent and Telegrapher for Southern Pacific Railroad's Pinole Depot railroad station. The depot became the town hub and he subsequently opened a laundromat and started the The Pinole Weekly Times newspaper. Later the depot was selected as the location for the infant city's first post office and Downer became the first postmaster. After the community incorporated in 1903 he became the first city clerk and afterwards mayor.

The beginnings of the bank were in 1905 when E.M. Downer began offering financial services to his acquaintances from a floor safe in his office. This was a great convenience to the residents because the closest bank at the time was at the Contra Costa County seat at Martinez, 13 miles (21 km) away. In 1915 he became second vice president and later, in 1919 after purchasing a controlling interest, he became president until his death in 1938. He was succeed by his son E.M. Downer, Jr. in 1939 who served as president until 1978.