Community Banks: Keeping It Local.

National banks can sometimes appear big and bad, with a Pac man fever that crunches on everyone around them. It can sometimes appear as though they control everything and do not look out for the little guy. Many people do not like to deal with them, but it is usually a necessity; long gone are the days when stuffing our Benjamins underneath the floorboards constituted a savings plan.

We cannot, or, at the very least, should not stuff our money in a mattress, but a bank does not have to be a Charybdis sucking us all into the vortex. The right bank can be a friend and ally, an affable face at the most crucial times.

In recent years, people have become more and more focused on shopping, buying, and eating local. However, although there are movements urging consumers to “go local,” most people don’t think about banking locally. Do people consider their local banks when setting up a checking account, securing a mortgage, or obtaining a personal loan?

When people patronize any local institution, they strengthen neighborhoods and enhance relationships. This applies to financial institutions as well. Sometimes, the world feels beholden to banks, which often appear large and impossible to navigate. However, most community establishments want to put down roots and support their specific cities, towns, and regions. They provide a level of customer service that, in general, surpasses that of national corporations, and they tend to know their customers on a more personal level. Since they may not have as much capital at their disposal, they constantly work to find new and better ways to reach out. Moreover, because they know their clients better, they can do this with ease.

Independent businesses in a particular region often reveal the strength of it. If the region contains many strong, independent financial institutions that are acutely aware of the needs of its clients, it can create more opportunity for other native employers, which strengthens the local economy across many levels. Overall, when more employers are “native,” more money stays in that area, with a tendency for improvements such as an increase in jobs. In addition, local employers put, on average, more capital back into their communities, usually in the form of donations and services.

The planet inches ever closer to complete homogenization and sameness: we can get the same pattern of pleated pants any way we want it almost anywhere. Local organizations provide improvements for their communities while maintaining the local vibes and customs. Each area has a personality, and as much as possible, it would be wise not to lose such unique flavor. Small-town depositories help preserve this by tailoring services specifically to folks with their insider knowledge of the singularity of that locale.

If we can find a way to keep it in the local family, the benefits are vast, and the planet does not have to feel so big, cold, and uncaring.

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