Long before Daniel Walker became Executive Chairman the Board of Farmers & Merchants Bank, his family’s legacy was stitched into the fabric of Long Beach.
There are countless stories of F&M’s community support over the years. One story from the 1940s, passed down through generations, continues to shape how Dan leads today.
“There was a Japanese American woman who came into the bank and spoke to my grandfather, Gus Walker,” Dan recalled.
She had a loan on her property but was being placed in an internment camp during World War II.
“She didn’t want to lose her home. She wanted to lease it and continue paying the bank.” Gus Walker agreed to accept the lease payments as loan payments and personally ensured her home was watched over.
“We had to take over ownership of that property during her time in internment,” Dan said. “Then, when she came back, the property was regranted to her.” Because of Gus Walker and F&M Bank’s help, she was able to keep her home when other interned Japanese Americans lost everything.
That personal commitment — to community, to people, and to doing the right thing even when it’s not the easy thing — has defined the Walker family’s leadership at F&M Bank since its founding in 1907. The bank has long stood by a core set of values: honesty, integrity, the home, the church, and service above self.
“My great-grandfather, CJ Walker, set those values in place,” Dan said. “It’s how to manage customers, how to manage employees, how to communicate and fulfill [those] values. That’s what has shaped me.”
Over the past century, those principles have guided the bank through wars, economic downturns and even natural disasters.
“We had a demoralizing earthquake in Long Beach in 1933,” Dan said. “That’s when the Depression hit the city hard. My grandfather Gus learned from CJ how to go into action. My father, Ken Walker, who was born in 1927, witnessed that as a child. And as he matured into the bank, he knew exactly what to do.”
Dan, who began recognizing the city's first responders at age 17, continues to hold dear the traditions his father and grandfather instilled in him.
“Every Christmas since about 1938, we’ve delivered apples to every police officer in the department. My grandfather would say, ‘Today, you and I are going to go see the chief of police.’ And there I was, standing in the office of the chief as a teenager. You never forget that.”
From those formative memories to high-stakes financial decisions, the Walker family’s legacy has remained consistent — acting with patience and purpose, even when outside pressure says otherwise.
Dan recalled one such moment, involving the Christ Cathedral in neighboring Garden Grove.
“The pastor fell on hard times and owed the bank about $36 million. The Federal Reserve was telling me to foreclose, to take over the property. I said no. We needed to have patience.”
Instead, Dan helped convince the Catholic Church to purchase the property at auction, allowing the pastor to remain involved and the church buildings to be preserved.
“Other buyers wanted to demolish it and build homes or commercial property,” Dan said. “But we supported the church, and they ended up spending $100 million to renovate it. That’s what you need to do as a bank — you need patience in order to allow people to achieve their objectives in life.”
Dan, now 71, remains committed not only to stewardship, but to mentorship.
“Wear a tie and a jacket to work,” he advised his nephew, Nolan Nicholson, First Vice President and Regional Relationship Manager of the Santa Barbara branch.
“When people see you, they should know who their banker is. I remember having lunch in Santa Barbara with him, and someone pointed to him across the room and said, ‘That’s my banker.’ That’s the level of presence and professionalism we aim for.”
With Father’s Day around the corner and the bank celebrating its 118th year, Dan sees his work as both a continuation and a responsibility. “We learn these lessons generation after generation,” he said. “I can for sure tell you, it was well taught to me.”
“It’s how to manage customers, how to manage employees, how to communicate and fulfill [those] values. That’s what has shaped me.”