While our thoughts turn to those personal relationships we value, there is another important relationship you as a consumer should be considering – relationship banking, A.K.A. your relationship with your community banker.
Why are these connections so important? Well that’s because when you partner with a community banker, you can rest assured that they are vested in not only the well-being of their local economies, but also their customers’ personal and business financial success
A Commitment to Perseverance
“Community banks have always provided support to their communities in good times and in the most challenging of circumstances,” Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey said. “The community bank response to the COVID-19 pandemic—as financial first responders and through imaginative and heartfelt projects to uplift the human spirt—show the true power of relationship banking when it matters most. ICBA is proud to represent the nation’s community banks and celebrates their passion and commitment to local communities.”
Our bankers work and live in the same communities you do – giving back their time and talent to help make our neighborhoods better places to call home.
At Waterford, our bankers have showed their willingness to go the distance for our customers throughout the ongoing Paycheck Protection Program rollouts through the Small Business Administration. Over the course of 2020, we proudly assisted our area small businesses in obtaining $197 million in Paycheck Protection Program funding. Now only a few weeks into PPP 2021, we’ve already helped fund over $55 million for new and returning PPP customers.
ICBA and Waterford Bank, N.A. remind customers that in times of hardship or uncertainty, they can trust their local community bank to help achieve their financial goals. Community banks:
- Respect and honor community ties. They channel loans to neighborhoods where their depositors live and work, which helps keeps the local economy churning.
- Are relationship lenders, taking a holistic approach to lending that considers numerous sources of information, including credit history and discretionary spending.
- Understand and embrace local businesses. The Federal Reserve has repeatedly found that small businesses that apply for loans with community banks are more successful and satisfied.
- Give back. Serving local communities is a part of the community bank tradition. From supporting financial literacy to helping underserved communities with food assistance, community bankers are actively out working to support multiple facets of their neighborhoods.
For the Love of Community
We know you have a choice in where you bank and are grateful for the opportunity to serve as a resource to help you realize your financial dreams. We love our communities in Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan and want to do our part by reinvesting your hard-earned money back into these areas to contribute to the financial health and welfare of our friends and neighbors.
From feeding those in need at soup kitchens to stuffing backpacks with supplies for in-need students, we’ve head the pleasure of helping individuals across the Midwest get the assistance they need.
Whether you need assistance with some personal banking basics or are looking to streamline your complex corporate transactions, we’ve got the tools and talent to help get the job done right. Contact us here to see how adding a little relationship to your banking can make a big difference.
