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This holiday season, First National Bank Alaska is making gift giving easier for Alaska businesses. Instead of hassling with picking out and purchasing specific items for employees, businesses can hand out decorative debit cards.

The gift cards are electronically loaded with cash and come in a variety of attractive designs. And they don`t have to be gift wrapped, which makes them handy for the holidays.

First National`s new gift cards--which are also ideal for personal gift giving--can be used at any place displaying a MasterCard logo. And this makes them a more user-friendly payment option than ordinary gift certificates, said Cheri Gillian, vice president/corporate marketing director. "It`s something that you can offer, instead of giving a traditional gift," Gillian said.

First National`s gift card is one of its newest ways of offering business-friendly banking to customers. Business-friendly banking is an important concept at First National, and it equates to one thing: providing commercial customers with products and services that best suit their needs. "I think business-friendly banking happens when the people who operate the bank are tuned into what their customers want and need and make customer service their highest priority," Gillian said.

First National is always looking for ways to use its expertise and capital position to help Alaska businesses succeed," Gillian said. At any of the bank`s 28 branches, businesses can expect to receive "very knowledgeable" services. That service might come from an officer, a customer service representative or a personal banker. Or customers can consult with commercial service representatives who are business specialists who work with more specialized and complex needs. "They know the breadth and depth of our services and how to apply them for business customers," Gillian explained.

When it comes to business banking, everyone has the same tools. But the difference, Gillian said, is in how you offer them. Take, for instance, First National`s new rent-collection service. Customers sign up by providing their tenants` names, mailing addresses, property addresses, payment amounts, due dates and late-charge information. The bank handles the rest: payments, deposits, accounting and reports.

The funds can be dispersed directly to customers` First National deposit accounts, and the bank will even send late-payment reminders to tenants. "It`s a great service for property managers, landlords or real estate agents, or anyone who manages several properties and find they could use their time better than collecting rent," Gillian said.

Response to the new rent-collection service has been positive from customers-and tenants.

"We`re not an enforcement agency," Gillian explained, "but people tend to make payments more readily to a bank."

The rent-collection service may be a new twist on the bank`s escrow services. But the bank`s approach to business-friendly banking remains the same. "What we offer really hasn`t changed," Gillian said, whether it`s handling your cash flow or providing you with cash flow when you need it through loans or lines of credit. "It`s just that now there`s a greater variety of ways for businesses to access those services and apply them," she said.

At Wells Fargo, business-friendly banking is really all about customer relationships, according to Jim Cloud, area business banking manager for Alaska. "Our strategy is to provide for all the financial needs of the customers," he said. "That means our bankers need to be equipped to identify the needs of our customers and match them up with our suite of business products. If it`s a particular need--like equipment or insurance--we can match them up with one of our specialists."

Wells Fargo is constantly striving to enhance its ability to provide better products and services to its business customers, Cloud said. The Internet is a significant delivery channel for the expansive financial services company, which serves Alaska through a network of 68 banking, mortgage, consumer lending, insurance and investment offices, as well as 120 ATMs. In fact, this summer, Wells Fargo was recognized as the Best Corporate Internet Bank in the United States by Global Finance Magazine.

One of Wells Fargo`s newest services for businesses is Desktop Deposit, which is a revolution in how customers can deposit their checks. It came about with Congress passing the legislation called "Check 21," which requires banks to receive for negotiation an electronic image for a check, Cloud explained.

With Desktop Deposit, customers can scan an image of their checks for deposit, electronically transmit them to the bank and view deposit information the same day over the Internet. "Customers don`t have to make a trip to the bank," Cloud said. "We`ve had very positive response to the service."

Desktop Deposit, reportedly the first Internet product of its kind within the industry, is available through Wells Fargo`s Commercial Electronic Office portal or CEO. CEO portal offers cash management, credit, international, and trust and investment services with a single sign onto a secure web site. From the CEO portal web site, customers can access online services to help them maintain check registers, reduce fraud risks, view images of deposited and disbursed checks, and print and download activity reports.

CEO portal offers customers a high level of convenience, control and security. And it`s ideal for businesses with comprehensive treasury management needs, according to Cloud. Currently, three out of four commercial customers with revenues in excess of $20 million use the CEO to conduct their banking and investment services, Cloud said.

Wells Fargo`s Membership banking program is another example of how it is catering to the distinct needs of business customers. Businesses that enroll in the program can offer their employees a package of free and discounted personal banking services like checking and savings accounts, credit cards and loans. Currently, Wells Fargo has about 900 businesses enrolled in its Membership banking program, Cloud said. "Some of these are multi-state enrollments so it`s not a direct correlation to our business households; however, I think it would be safe to say that to date, about 5 percent of our business households are offering this service to their employees, and this number is growing rapidly," he added.

Wells Fargo also is reinforcing relationship banking by offering bundled products and services at a discount. Customers may even be able to receive basic services like business bill pay, and merchant and business payroll services at no charge if they have a large enough balance. "It just comes back to trying to emphasize that we value the relationship we have with our customers," Cloud said. "The more of their business they have with us, the better value we can provide."

With 70 percent of its in-branch transactions being business transactions, Northrim Bank has a strong focus on commercial customers, according to Carolyn Jennings, senior vice president/ branch administrator. It also has definite views about business-friendly banking.

For Northrim, business-oriented banking is synonymous with relationship banking. "We should be a resource for our customers.... We look to add value to our customers," Jennings said.

The bank`s desire to add value to customers has translated into a small-business center in its West Anchorage branch off Spenard Road and Northern Lights Boulevard. The center has dedicated small-business officers on site to provide customers with personalized attention to meet their unique needs.

Northrim Bank also is giving business customers greater access to product and other information through www. northrim.biz, which launched last year. Customers can use the site as a handy reference for information about their Northrim Bank account, business seminars, business tools and even other resources like the Small Business Administration. Jennings said people are using the site frequently, particularly to access the business credit and business manager applications. "It`s intended to help our customers avoid spending a lot of time trying to find things," she said.

A newer business product offered by Northrim Bank is FlexCache Gift Cards. This popular product allows small businesses to offer their own gift cards and be more competitive with large companies. FlexCache Gift Cards give customers inexpensive access to silver, gold or even their own branded gift cards. "It`s a great replacement for gift certificates," Jennings said. "Customers can choose to have cards that are even reloadable."

Northrim Bank also offers a variety of services to help businesses improve their cash flow. MedCash Manager, for example, gives medical customers access to money while they`re waiting for insurance payments. Similarly, Business Manager provides businesses with immediate cash for their outstanding accounts receivable.

Northrim Bank also offers products that can help business customers manage human resource issues. Northrim Benefits Group, for example, helps businesses set up health savings accounts for their employees through the bank. And through Elliott Cove Capital Management LLC, Northrim investment advisors can walk businesses through the process of offering employees 401(k) retirement benefits.

A very practical service offered by Northrim Bank for businesses is non-cash courier pickup. The convenient service lets businesses receive scheduled and non-scheduled pickup of a package for $2 or $3, respectively. "They put it in a Mylar bag that is secure, safe, numbered," Jennings explained. "It`s brought to the bank and given same-day credit, and customers don`t have to leave their office."

Northrim Bank`s suite of products and services all play into its long-running commitment to provide "Customer First Service." And having a customer-first approach goes well beyond promoting a slogan, Jennings said. "You can put a sign outside and say that you have customer-first service if you want to, but it`s the feeling of your department and branches that makes all the difference," she said.

Native American Bank, National Association, which joined the Alaska banking community October 2004, maintains a focused approach by catering to select customers. NAB is a federally chartered bank that is owned by Native American Bancorporation, a bank holding company organized by a group of tribal nations and Alaska Native corporations. NAB is the only bank that has a primary mission to serve the unique needs of Native Americans, according to president and CEO William Snider.

With 17 or so significant tribal investors, NAB is also the only bank that is multi-tribally owned, said Snider. NAB`s principal banking office, incidentally, is in Browning, Mont., on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. "We`re culturally sensitive." Snider said. "We use government-guaranteed programs effectively to bring credit into the Native American communities."

With a mission statement of "Pooling Indian Economic Resources to Increase Indian Economic Independence," NAB`s core function is commercial lending. Located off C Street, the Anchorage office originates loans for everything from office buildings and agri-business to hotels and casinos. As of August 2005, NAB`s assets and deposits were $57.4 million and $48 million, respectively.

"Tribes can do business with `Bank X` and their return on investment goes to Wall Street, or they can do business with us and their return goes to Indian Country," he said.