Phenomenal is the first word that comes to mind when thinking of this staff. I haven't been to the…read moreOcean avenue location in 3 years and my experience was just as pleasant as I remember before. Big Shout out to Bao who I recognized immediately just by hearing his voice. His humor and positive attitude is infectious. It is essential to feel supported and most importantly, valued by your financial institution. I appreciate them for always providing a welcoming experience. Ian

Higher Savings Rate & Low Loan Interest Rate! Great branches…read morewith warm welcome. Thank you

A nightmare. I…read morerefinanced with them over a year ago, and I'm still angry. They don't communicate, they're rude, and they're disorganized. They kept me waiting without a word for weeks, then told me "you have to sign your papers TODAY or you'll lose your loan." So I signed the papers -- and I had to reschedule an important meeting with a Fortune 100 CEO because Smith-Craine didn't have their sh*t together enough to give me advance notice of my loan closing. When I asked for an explanation for the hurry-up-and-wait, none was forthcoming. They simply shrugged and blamed the bank. They also lost original documents I gave them. No apology was forthcoming. When I requested a copy of my home's appraisal, they didn't send it. When I called Ed Craine (the guy in charge) to complain, they finally did send it -- along with a pile of what was apparently random paper from someone's desk. Including some in-house emails and part of a *complete stranger's* loan application. I couldn't make this up if I tried. Seriously. They're awful. And they just don't care. I heard from a friend that Ed Craine is hawking some kind of be-a-millionaire-through-real-estate seminars now. I'm not surprised. Obviously the referrals can't be flooding in. Stay away.

I'm not exaggerating when I say Steve was our golden goose in our home-buying process. He secured…read moreus a 30-year mortgage rate that retail banks gawked at - no one was able to match it. As we excavated our finances, we threw him plenty of curveballs - and Steve handled every one with total precision, structuring our loan flawlessly. As first-time homebuyers, we had a lot of nerves and a lot of questions. Steve was endlessly patient, clear, and always available, which made a stressful process feel surprisingly smooth. We had a 21-day loan contingency over Christmas and New Year's, and multiple banks told us it was impossible. Steve didn't just meet the deadline - he closed early. And the real mic-drop moment: we were up against a cash offer. The seller's agent knew Steve and knew his reputation for always closing. Because of that, our offer was considered the more reliable choice over cash. Steve is the reason we got our dream house. Hands down.

Steven, Has definitely saved our bacon when we needed…read moreresolution to a potential problem. He is creative, diligent, and took great care of us. He answered all our questions and was quick to give us a solution. I would recommend him to anyone.

I went in to open a new checking account. I was asked what my social security number is out in the…read morepublic with other customers next to me. Already a big red flag. After a few minutes I was told that I can't open a checking account and they would need to have the corporate office look into it. I asked why is that. The banker simply said he doesn't know. Will take my business elsewhere.

If you choose to bank with Sterling Bank & Trust, Sherman, the manager at the West Portal branch is…read moreyour go-to guy. I've been banking with Sherman at West Portal for several years now, and recently I had some issues transferring my Roth IRA accounts -- it involved a lot of attention and meetings between Sherman and myself, and once even a three-way call with another institution -- I really appreciate how Sherman was focused and available to help me throughout a span of two months or so. Sterling doesn't appear to have as many modern conveniences as the bigger banks, but the upside of this is that Sherman was nearly always available right away by phone for me during business hours (excluding lunch), he prioritized the deadline-sensitive tasks he needed to perform for me, and that he always followed up as needed. I really appreciated Sherman's availability, competence and customer-service focus. If you need to do banking that involves a bit of paperwork, it may be best to schedule an appointment ahead of time (morning seemed better), so that he can focus on your work -- it appears the branch has a total of two employees, Sherman and Christy. I've been to a couple of the other Sterling branches (Taraval and Westlake), and I've found the service here at West Portal to be much superior.

Needed a mobile notary asap and Joe came through. My paperwork was notarized in a little over an…read morehour at my house at a very reasonable rate.

Joe was incredibly thorough and knowledgeable regarding California specific requirements for…read morenotarized signatures. He attached a separate document (California Jurat) that other notaries have never used. Would definitely use again.

Very disappointed with service! My CD matures today and I am going on vacation tonight. Went to…read moreroll over a CD and they said I could not until the next day. I initially called and someone said I could and finish the paperwork when I got back from vacation but they just blew it off as some new employee who didn't know what they were talking about. I still don't understand why they couldn't close my CD and open a new one. Finally said fine give me my money and I'll go down the block to Patelco who actually has better CD rates.

I now understand the reasons fr all the negative reviews. I was here yesterday to deposit a check…read morefrom an account I closed at another institution into my checking account. The associate and the manager not only put a 5-day hold on a cashier's check but also pressured me to keep the money at their institution in order to bypass the hold. They asked inappropriate questions about what I was planning to do with the money and took 30 minutes to complete a simple deposit transaction. To call them highly unprofessional would be an understatement!

Fast, efficient, and reliable management of customers by volume. Per usual, Schwab customers are…read morehands on and come so young as teenagers all the way to the wise and well seasoned. Staff is friendly, well trained, team oriented, and pragmatic while always professional. It speaks volumes when they can impress my young teenage son as well as my mother-in-law during the high volume seasons.

4.0 million gone and schwab did nothing but screw two handicapped guys…read more My father trusted Schwab with his life savings for decades. He loved his Schwab account. He developed dementia later in life, and I, his autistic son, went to Schwab to ask for help after noticing something was very wrong. Instead of helping, Schwab pretended to assist us -- dragging things out for nine months, answering slowly, all while running out the statute of limitations. When time expired, they told us they would do nothing to recover the money. Over $4 million dollars was stolen from his Schwab trust account. 140 checks were written from an account that should never have had checks written from it. My father NEVER wrote checks on his Schwab account -- he only used his Wells Fargo account to cover bills, protecting the principal at Schwab so it could generate income ($120k-$150k a year). Schwab never warned us, never protected him, and let criminals bleed the account dry. Because of Schwab's failure: My father died penniless in a public institution. I, his dependent son, ended up homeless. We were forced to pay $318,000 in taxes to the IRS and Franchise Tax Board -- for money that had been stolen. Schwab ran the clock out rather than helping a loyal client and his disabled son. They showed no ethics, no urgency, and no human decency. Trust Schwab if you want to risk your family's entire future.