Independent Banker - July 2019 - 5

FLOURISH
" When our customers'
needs take center stage,
we identify creative
solutions to help them
achieve their dreams. "
Rebeca Romero Rainey
President and CEO, ICBA
When I think about how the lending market
has changed over the past decade, there is one
consistent theme-community banks have been,
and continue to be, the backbone of our nation's
fi nancing. Despite regulatory hurdles and
increased competition from nonbank providers,
community banks thrive in both consumer and
commercial lending. In fact, we provide about
60% of small business loans and 80% of agriculture
loans, and those numbers continue to climb.
How, with all the hurdles placed in our paths,
have we managed this feat? It's simple-we focus
on the customer and the relationship. When their
needs take center stage, we identify creative solutions
to help them achieve their dreams.
In my days as a community banker, I ran
across many opportunities to be inspired in loan
off erings. For example, we had a customer who
built " earthships, " homes that were totally off the
energy grid and used recycled materials like tires
and beer cans in their construction. That's certainly
a diff erent business model, but we fi nanced
the design and construction of these homes anyway.
Only a community bank would take on a
project like this, but I was proud that we were
able to support an innovative client that also had
the interests of the environment in mind.
This kind of ingenuity prevails in community
banking, and this month's issue features banks
Where I'll be
this month
I'll be visiting
the Montana
Independent
Bankers for
their annual
convention.
with an inventive mindset. Take the Bank of Glen
Ullin in North Dakota. Its loan portfolio is 95%
agricultural, fueled by two loan offi cers who are
also farmers. That deep understanding of the
customer led the bank to help its clients create
marketing plans that support their business
development and growth. Then there's First Bank
in Hamilton, N.J., which is growing its lending
business through both strategic acquisitions and
targeted product off erings. The bank off ers real
estate fi nancing to current customers who want
to acquire investment property out of state.
These examples capture the diversity and resilience
of thinking that fuels community banking,
as well as a glimmer of emerging opportunities.
There's so much more that awaits us, and I
urge you to look at this issue as an invitation for
innovation. Explore how you could apply these
concepts within your own institution.
That spirit of invention and intention allows me
to see so many possibilities for our future. Community
banks will continue to fl ourish in lending
precisely because of who they are at their core:
bold leaders that constantly evolve to meet their
customers' needs in new and creative ways.
Connect with Rebeca @romerorainey
independentbanker.org Q 5
http://www.independentbanker.org
Independent Banker - July 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Independent Banker - July 2019
