April is Community Banking Month!
Community Banks work to bridge the gap between financial institutions and the communities in which they operate. We do this by reinvesting in and supporting our communities in an effort to form a more cohesive local business landscape. First Bank has always been focused on delivering quality products and services to our customers. Our local roots ensure that our interests remain tied in with the communities in our footprint of New Jersey and Southeastern Pennsylvania.
Helping our customers achieve their individual financial goals has always been one part of our focus. However, helping to nurture our communities by donating time and money to causes we believe in is also very important to us. By staying in tune with what is going on in local communities, First Bank can provide support where it is most needed. Read our blog post about our “Give First” campaign where we allowed new account customers to choose what non-profits we donated to. You can also read about our project with DonorsChoose to raise money for local classrooms! Helping charitable organizations in our communities meet their needs is a mission in which the community banking industry has excelled.
Here are some facts about community banks:
- Community banks are a major source of lending for small businesses & farms. Community banks with <$1 billion in assets accounted for 27.5% of bank loans to small businesses.
- 80% of independent businesses who use community banks report they were satisfied with their experience.
- 68% of those independent businesses were satisfied with their large banks, and just 43% were satisfied with their online banking provider.
- Almost 95% of a community bank’s investment will go right back into their community in the form of mortgages, small businesses loans, student loans, and more.
- Community banks have nearly 50,000 locations across the United States, employing almost 700,000 people.
These statistics do their best to illustrate the importance of community banks, but they do not tell the whole story. Customers at First Bank are connected to their own Personal Banker who understands their needs and can act on the customer’s behalf. First Bank’s employees don’t just work in the area; we live here too. This means that we are even more committed to the communities we serve, because they are our communities too! We make sure to dedicate time to help local charities and non-profit organizations via volunteerism, to ensure their events are successful and their goals are being met.
First Bank would like to take this opportunity to thank our customers for choosing to bank with us. After all, we are in this together. Community banks can only succeed if our customers and communities are flourishing as well. There is a reason why community banks have been thriving for more than 150 years; we know what it takes to support our local communities, and we love doing it.
If you would like to learn more about banking with First Bank, click here to find a First Bank branch near you!