The story
Early history
Wilmington Savings Fund Society was chartered as a Delaware thrift in 1832 by a group of Wilmington community leaders and businessmen. The bank was formed for the working citizens of Wilmington to encourage thrift, to safeguard and increase their savings in a community bank. The bank's first day of business was February 18, 1832, in a rented room "one door below" Town Hall on Market Street. The bank grew steadily through the 19th century, and moved locations twice more before constructing their own building at 838 N. Market Street in 1895. The building stood until 1929, when the current building was constructed and opened for business. Three years later the building would receive its landmark mural, Apotheosis of the Family by N. C. Wyeth. The mural, 60'x19', was commissioned by Frederick Stone to celebrate the bank's 100th anniversary, and a smaller version of this mural still hangs in the bank's current headquarters at 500 Delaware Avenue in Wilmington.
1950s to early 1990s
WSFS' growth continued in the 1950s and 60s, and was the first bank in the United States to issue debit cards in the late 1960s. By the 1980s, WSFS had expanded from northern New Castle County into Kent and Sussex counties, and went public in 1986 on the NASDAQ market. By the early 1990s the bank was in poor financial shape, and was near bankruptcy. The Board of Directors hired Marvin "Skip" Schoenhals in 1990, and began a dramatic turnaround. Nearly all of the lower Delaware branches were sold to Wilmington Trust, and lending practices and credit quality were administered more closely.
Mid-1990s to 2007
Over time, the bank gradually strengthened and was reintroduced to Kent County and Sussex County. In 1995, WSFS Bank opened its first branch in Kent County since the 1991 closings in the Dover Metro Supermarket. The first new branch in Sussex County since the closings opened in Rehoboth Beach in July 2003 and moved to its current location in June 2004. New branch locations have since opened in Camden, Canterbury, Harrington, Lewes, Long Neck, Milford, Millsboro, Ocean View, Seaford, Selbyville, Smyrna, West Dover and Wyoming.
WSFS Bank has the largest ATM network in Delaware and one of the largest branded ATM networks in the Greater Delaware Valley. The bank has ATMs located in all Delaware Walgreens pharmacies. Fee free ATMs are also located in most Grotto Pizza locations, Walmart stores, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Food Lion locations. There are over 600 WSFS-branded ATMs in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
In 2007, WSFS Bank moved its corporate headquarters from 838 N. Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware, where it had resided since 1885, to 500 Delaware Avenue. The 838 Market Street location is listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places. At the time it was built, the new location was the first multi-tenant building to be constructed in Wilmington since the late 1980s.
2008 to present
WSFS steered through the Great Recession and came out stronger than before. In 2010, WSFS began to expand further into southeastern Pennsylvania with the relocation of its Glen Mills branch. WSFS has since opened additional locations in Edgmont, Kennett Square, Media and West Chester, and expanded further in southeastern Pennsylvania through strategic acquisitions, including Alliance Bank in April 2015, Penn Liberty Bank in November 2015, and Philadelphia-based Beneficial Bank in March 2019. Additionally, the WSFS Bank brand was introduced in New Jersey in August 2019 when former Beneficial Bank branches were rebranded as WSFS Bank.
In 2011, WSFS celebrated its 25th anniversary on NASDAQ. Continued growth came with the opening of a new regional headquarters and branch at the corners of Kirkwood Highway and Route 7 in Delaware in 2012.
In 2018, WSFS was voted #1 Bank in Delaware by readers of the Wilmington News Journal and delawareonline.com in their annual Readers' Choice Awards for 2018. This was the eighth consecutive year that WSFS was honored with this award. In 2022, WSFS was named a "Top Workplace" for the 16th year in a row by The News Journal.
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In 2024, WSFS won the Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award for the eight time and in 2020 had been named winner of the Gallup Culture Transformation Award. The awards recognize companies that embrace Associate engagement and make it a fundamental foundation of their business. In 2025, WSFS was named a "Top Workplace" by The Philadelphia Inquirer for the tenth consecutive year.
On January 1, 2019, Rodger Levenson became WSFS’ 13th President and CEO in the company's 186-year history. WSFS also elevated Mark A. Turner from chairman to Executive Chairman of the board of directors. Mr. Turner stepped aside from the roles of President and CEO on December 31, 2018, after a dozen years as WSFS’ Chief Executive, where he successfully guided the company through the 2008 Financial Crisis, Great Recession, Government intervention in banking and a regulatory regime change.
On January 1, 2020, Rodger Levenson assumed the role of chairman of the Board of Directors, in addition to his role as president and CEO. Mark A. Turner stepped aside from his role as Executive Chairman.
From Wikipedia’s article on WSFS Bank, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.6