In the past several years, millions of individuals in the nation have transitioned from utilizing the big, faceless banking empire to small, community-based, local banking institutions. In a world of economic turmoil and consistent financial complications for the “little man”, more and more Americans are finding that opting for the local banks in their community is the way to go.
These institutions not only offer the standard services and benefits offered by those large banking empires, but they often offer more funding options for locals and those seeking to contribute to the growth of their community. While these are highly advantageous, there are many other benefits associated with local banking.
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Get the Same Services at Lower Cost
Most locally owned banks offer the same array of services, from online bill paying to debit and credit cards, at much lower cost than big banks. Average fees at small banks are substantially lower than at big banks, according to national data. Studies show that small financial institutions also offer, on average, better interest rates on savings and better terms on credit cards and other loans.
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Put Your Money to Work Growing Your Local Economy
Small businesses, which create the majority of new jobs, depend heavily on small, local banks for financing. Although small and mid-sized banks control less than one-quarter of all bank assets, they account for more than half of all small business lending. Big banks, meanwhile, allocate relatively little of their resources to small businesses. The largest 20 banks, which now control 57 percent of all bank assets, devote only 18 percent of their commercial loan portfolios to small business.
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Keep Decision-Making Local
At local banks, loan approvals and other key decisions are made locally by people who live in the community, have face-to-face relationships with their customers, and understand local needs. Because of this personal knowledge, local financial institutions are often able to approve small business and other loans that big banks would reject.
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Back Institutions that Share a Commitment to Your Community
The fortunes of local banks are intimately tied to the fortunes of their local communities. The more the community prospers, the more the local bank benefits. This is why many local banks are involved in their communities. Big banks, in contrast, are not tethered to the places where they operate. Indeed, they often use a community’s deposits to make investments in other regions or on Wall Street.
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Support Productive Investment, Not Gambling
The primary activity of almost all small banks is to turn deposits into loans and other productive investments. Meanwhile, big banks devote a sizeable share of their resources to speculative trading and other Wall Street bets that may generate big profits for the bank, but provide little economic or social value for the rest of us and can put the entire financial system at risk if they go bad.
Small local banks offer many advantages. Greenville Federal offers lower costs, encourage economic growth, and only engage in productive investments; the top of which is you – the customer. If you are in search of a community bank that is made by the people, puts the people first, and considers the people to be its primary source of business, our services are for you. Not only do we offer all of the advantages outlined here, but, we strive to know each of our customers and to help you grow!
Top 5 reasons were produced by New Rules Project’s Community Banking Initiative.
