2017 Community Banking Month

By Teresa Taylor
Executive Director
The Independent Banks of SC

Where you choose to bank matters.

Your choice of bank is your vote on where your money goes. Are your hard-earned deposits reinvested back into our local community? Or are they sent off to a banking hub in another state or halfway around the world?

As more consumers realize the benefits of keeping their money local, I encourage you to think about how banking locally can go a long way in helping your local community thrive.

For example, when you deposit funds into a community bank, you can trust that your money is being redistributed back into your community in the form of loans to fellow residents and entrepreneurs. This cannot be said for megabanks. Who knows where that money is going or what it’s powering?

Having the privilege of working with our community banks in South Carolina, I have the opportunity to see the positive power of community banking play out every day. Community bankers have the privilege of serving their residents and their families by making loans that help them buy a home, pay for a vehicle, or send a child to college—whatever it is, they are there and happy to lend a hand. They also have the honor of serving many of our town’s small businesses through loans to help them get started, grow and succeed.

They have also served many of the local farms and agricultural enterprises that have been part of communities for generations. And they are working with the next generation of entrepreneurs to help launch their exciting ideas and bring communities into the future. This is local money at work—a symbiotic relationship between bank and community that makes sense.

During April, which is Community Banking Month, I encourage you to think about where you bank and how your money has the power to make a meaningful impact on your community. From local farms to craftsmen to startups, banking locally with a community bank connects you to your community and your neighbors and gives everyone a stake in its financial success. Here are a few reasons why:

• Community banks respect the communities we serve by doing right by their customers and community. Community banks and local communities have symbiotic relationships—one cannot thrive without the other.
• Community banks are relationship lenders. They know their customers and understand their financial needs, unlike larger institutions that take a transaction-based approach to banking.
• Community banks understand and celebrate local economies. As small businesses themselves, community banks are an unequivocal resource for entrepreneurs looking to launch a local small business. A study from seven Federal Reserve Banks found that small businesses that apply for loans with community banks are the most successful and most satisfied.
• Community banks give back. Serving local communities is second nature to community banks. Community Bankers take pride in making our communities stronger through various service projects.

Making our communities better and stronger is something that we all have a stake in. We hope you will join us in continuing to make community banks thrive and prosper for years to come!