Banking on the local citizens

Citizens Bank is a small business focused on community

There really is nothing more Main Street than a local community bank.

A community bank focuses their attention and services on local small businesses in their efforts to grow and on residents as they purchase homes, set aside savings and build security for their financial future.

A local community bank is an important cog in the gears that turn the economyin a community and Citizens Bank is proud to have that role. And, according to new president and CEO, Keith Lindauer, a community bank is small business, too.

“We are a small business in the community, even with 100 employees and almost $400 million in assets, just like the local paper and every other small business,” Lindauer said. “We do the same thing that a small business does to get cusomters like marketing and advertising. Like other businesses in the area, we know the key is people. We have to find good people and we live and die by the good people in our organization.”

A community bank like Citizens Bank faces challenges and reaches goals like other small businesses, but they do it in a highly-regulated environment. Lindauer says that to comply with regulations and still do business in a manner to return a profit to shareholders and supply services to meet customer needs adds to the challenge column.

Legislation changed in the 1980s, which allowed banks in the state of Indiana to transact business outside the borders of the state. Citizens Bank did not choose to follow that path.

Citizens Bank maintains a philosophy of serving the immediate area. Lindauer explains, “We are in Central Indiana. We take in deposits here and make loans here. There is a legal lending limit, by regulation and prudence, and we do not lend more than $3 million to related companies. A large corporation with large lending needs is not going to be Citizen Bank’s customer because we can’t meet their needs.”

Commercial and consumer loans made to businesses and residents are maintained and serviced by the bank locally, too. Lindauer said,”In a strategic decision made by the bank, we chose not to sell servicing so we can provide service and have long term relationships with all our customers.”

“The heart of what we do,” said Lindauer,”is to gather deposits and lend them out to individual and companies.”

Sound like other citizens and small business owners frustrated with governmental rules and regulations, Lindauer said,”One of the things that I find challenging is that the Great Recession threw all banks into the same bucket. We didn’t do subprimes loans, we did not invest in high-growth, but we still have to comply with the new regulations borne out of the brouhaha. We have to play by the rules and are treated the same as that national bank, even though we didn’t do the same thing. We carry the same burden of those who did not do it the right way.”