Upon hearing rumors he had died, Mark Twain wrote that "the report of my death was an exaggeration." There have been many variations of that quote since he wrote it in 1897, but the reason he wrote it has never varied—somebody misunderstood a piece of news, reached an unfounded conclusion, and the record needed to be set straight.
Some 110 years later, rumors began circulating of the demise of community banking. And indeed, as of this writing 463 banks have failed across the United States since 2008, and twice that number were identified as "troubled" banks. Today, though, the number of troubled banks is declining, and the truth is that there are some 7,200 commercial and savings banks in the United States that survived the worst economic conditions since the Great Depression. For those of us in that survivor group, the reports of our demise have been greatly exaggerated.
That's not to say, though, that the past four years have been easy or enjoyable. We've certainly had more than our share of sleepless nights as we've helped customers navigate through their financial duress—often successfully, but sometimes not. Through it all, we've gained an even greater respect and admiration for those who, through no real fault of their own, faced enormous financial challenges but with hard work, perseverance, and a positive attitude survived—not unscathed, certainly, but definitely wiser and stronger.
As a community bank survivor, we understand that mentality. We live it every day. We've never claimed to be anything than what we are—a locally owned bank focused on the financial needs of the communities in which we live, work, and play. We've learned a lot about ourselves, our customers, and our industry in the past few years, but perhaps most importantly we've learned that our simple formula works. We've survived, and we're here to help you not only survive, but prosper.
Please call me or any of our experienced banking professionals to discuss any banking need you might have. Let's grow together.
Upon hearing rumors he had died, Mark Twain wrote that "the report of my death was an exaggeration." There have been many variations of that quote since he wrote it in 1897, but the reason he wrote it has never varied—somebody misunderstood a piece of news, reached an unfounded conclusion, and the record needed to be set straight.
