What It Means To Be A Community Bank

A lot of banks say they are a community bank. Many banks also have the word community in their name, just as we do. Many marketing programs for banks focus on being a community bank. With all of this being said “what does it really mean to be a community bank?” The actual definition of a community bank is a bank with less than $10 billion in assets that serves a relatively small geographic area. I would describe a community bank in this way. Yes, they are typically smaller and serve a somewhat smaller geographic area. But, it is much more than just this. Community banks operating strategy every day is to develop relationships with individuals and businesses that evolve over many, many years. I had a customer call me earlier this year and during our conversation the customer mentioned that she had been a customer of our bank for 32 years! This is just one of many examples of customers who have been with our bank for a very long time. Once you gain a new customer you must serve them well every day. You must also be professional, friendly, responsive and available to your customers and being available does not just mean 8 am to 5 pm every business day. It sometimes means being available in the evening and on weekends. For us this is a very common occurrence and it is a very important part of being a successful, growing community bank. The other point I would make is that a community bank must support the communities in which it is located. If you have healthy and growing communities it contributes to our ability to be healthy, growing and successful as well.
Finally, I always want to say thank you to our customers. The loyalty of our customers is one of many reasons for our longevity and success and we appreciate that loyalty every day and will always work hard to deserve the continuation of your loyalty. From all of us at FFCB, thank you again!

Jeffrey K. Urban, CEO & President, Interim