Instead, the interior of Umpqua Bank has the feel of a sleek living room — hip leather chairs form the bank's core, flanking a plasma TV screen and a shelf of best sellers.

On offer are mortgage consultants, as well as yoga class, movie night, freshly brewed coffee and a chunk of milk chocolate with every transaction.

"What if we felt like home?" asks Umpqua Bank's chief executive Ray Davis, standing next to a pot of steaming coffee in the plush Portland branch.

Started in 1953 in the southern town of Canyonville by loggers who were fed up with driving long distances to cash their checks, the tiny Oregon bank has grown into a cutting-edge institution.

Community banks like Umpqua are gaining prominence by adding a human touch, prompting commercial giants like Wells Fargo and Bank of America to change the way they handle basic financial transactions.

In 1994, Davis — who had just been hired to help Umpqua Bank grow beyond its rural roots — did something revolutionary. He invited customers to linger.

Internet banking had just been invented and the prevailing ethos was that customers could be weaned off human contact.

"If you wanted to check your balance, we sent you to the phone. If you wanted to withdraw money, we told you to use the ATM," said Nancy Kinnard, manager of Umpqua Bank's Eugene branch, who worked for First Interstate Bank before joining Umpqua.

"The big banks had created a vacuum," said 77-year-old Milton Herbert, the only surviving founder of Umpqua Bank.

Into that vacuum, Davis placed a cup of coffee. Not just a pot of generic brew, but the company's own blend.

The transformation started in the southern town of Roseburg, site of the bank's headquarters until moving to Portland in 2001.

In Roseburg, the bank's design team tore out the teller windows and created a living room, replete with magazines, a couch and a large-screen TV.

"Read, Sip, Surf, Bank," became the bank's motto. "What if we felt like home?" is not just a rhetorical question for Davis — but also the bank's latest advertising line, emblazoned on buses and billboards.

From $140 million in assets a decade ago, the bank has grown to $3 billion today. It has 64 branches and announced plans to expand into Washington and California.

By inviting people to linger, Davis stumbled upon a concept familiar to the retail industry.

"There is a direct relationship between the time spent in a store and the average amount that you buy," said Dan Stanek, executive vice president of Retail Forward, a retail research and analysis firm in Columbus, Ohio.

Starting in 1996, Umpqua Bank became the first to call its branches "stores."

Like at the Estee Lauder counter, they began offering a complimentary gift with every new account — a T-shirt, a Java mug, a bestseller.

"My customers walk away with a bag full of stuff," said Marie Green, manager of the Roseburg branch.

Like in a department store, the products are on display.

Open an interest-bearing account, and you get the seed of a Douglas fir tree, wrapped like a pair of Tiffany's earrings in soft, white tissue.

"Retailers understand the importance of touch and feel — even with intangible products like electronics," said Ellen Tolley, spokeswoman for the National Retail Federation in Washington, D.C.

Smart retailers, she said, display digital cameras on the countertop and encourage customers to point and shoot.

A decade after opening its first "store," Umpqua Bank is now far from alone in its approach.

In Seattle, Washington Mutual has pioneered its 'Occasio' branches — Latin for "favorable opportunity." In addition to a coffee bar, the branches include a play area, where children can have fun while their parents "shop."

In Virginia, the 168-year-old Riggs Bank — where Abraham Lincoln had an account — has shed the marble, in exchange for European furniture and flatscreen TVs.

"It's part of a trend in business, which tries to make transactions an experience — rather than just a transaction," said Charlotte Birch, spokeswoman for the American Bankers Association.

Overall, the retail strategy has not only worked — it's forced megabanks like Wells Fargo, Charter One and Bank of America to take notice.

A "hostess" now greets you when you walk into Bank of America branches. And both Wells Fargo and Charter One have signed deals with Seattle-based Starbucks to operate coffee shops inside select branches.