What is a community bank?

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Generally, community banks have assets < $10 billion and meet the following criteria:

• Must be operated under the control and direction of an independent management team with decision-making ability in the communities that they serve.
• Must have primary focus of investing local deposits and making loans for the financial and social betterment of the communities that they serve.
• They focus attention on the needs of local families, small businesses, and farmers.
• Must be involved in the communities that they serve through financial and volunteer time commitments.
• They are known for their quality service and personal attention.
• They offer nimble decision-making on loans as they consider character, family history and discretionary spending instead of relying solely on impersonal criteria such as credit scoring.
• Fees for checking accounts and other financial services are typically lower than those charged at other types of financial institutions.
• Must be a depository financial institution.
• Must be a commercial bank, savings bank, mutual savings bank, or savings and loan association.
• Must have an independent bank charter from at least one of the appropriate regulatory agencies such as the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Ohio Division of Financial Institutions, or Federal Reserve Bank (FRB).
• Must be insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
• Must represent and promote the independent community bank philosophy.