When you hear the term community bank, what comes to mind? For most people, the image is of a small bank in a small town that does small business.
And while that was true for some time, the evolution of banking has broadened the scope of services offered by community banks, making them competitive with their national competition.
Surety Bank is a community bank. We are committed to the communities in which we operate. Our leaders and employees live in the small towns in which we operate. But if I’m honest, the term annoys me. Its small-minded connotation is antithetical to the type of organization Surety is. Community Bank is a self-designated term, and there is no separate charter to differentiate us from big banks. However, we’re distinguished easily by our customers based on the quality of our service.
According to the government, all banks should operate from the community banking mindset. In 1977, congress enacted The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) to encourage banking institutions to work to meet the financial need of the communities in which they do business, including lower-income areas. Without this act, it would be easy for big banks to take off to the big cities and focus their efforts on high-dollar clients. The CRA is a valuable tool to compel big banks to do business with customers of all sizes. It’s essentially a piece of legislation requiring large corporations to treat small customers with dignity.
There is a misconception that community banks don’t offer the same services as large banks, but now that 85% of Americans own smartphones, banking has become an entirely new frontier. Surety clients are doing business from the device in their pockets, and community banks can maintain client relationships well outside of the areas they’re located.
Community banks offer many of the same services as big banks (online banking, easy access to cash, personal and commercial loans, treasury services etc.) without sacrificing our quality of care. Some of our best qualities are things big banks can’t or won’t do. Community banks strengthen local economies because their owners or stakeholders often live in the community and recirculate profits back into local businesses.
Negative perceptions of community banks are untrue and can also be damaging. At Surety Bank, we fight against misconceptions by continuing to provide superior service, leading our peers in innovation, and adding value to our communities in a way that much larger financial institutions never could.
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