How Relationship Banking Funds Local Prosperity

How Relationship Banking Funds Local Prosperity

F & M Community Bank and Independent Community Bankers of America® (ICBA) are reminding consumers that banking locally is an investment in the community and creates a lifelong relationship with a hometown lender with community ties and a vested interest in their customers’ financial success.

“At F & M Community Bank we take great pride in our role as trusted lenders,” said Tamsen Leimer, VP of Business and Mortgage Banking. “We thank our customers for entrusting us with their financial futures and pledge to continue giving back to the community that we love and call home, demonstrating our value as relationship lenders.”

Community banks are financial stewards of their communities, funding more than 60 percent of small businesses, more than 80 percent of agricultural loans, and helping local families finance major purchases and build financial security. Community banks:

• Respect and honor community ties by channeling loans to neighborhoods where their depositors live and work, which helps drive the local economy.
• Are relationship lenders, taking a holistic approach to lending to consider numerous data sources, 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.
• Are innovative, partnering with technology providers (as showcased through ICBA’s Innovation initiatives, to deliver high-tech, high-touch experiences.
• Give back. Serving local communities is a part of the community bank tradition, as reflected in ICBA’s National Community Bank Service Awards.

“Community banks are motivated to provide support through every phase of your financial journey, building a reputation as relationship lenders,” ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey said. “ICBA is proud to represent the nation’s community bankers who are not only committed to empowering their customers succeed financially but also to strengthening the communities they serve.”