The benefits of banking locally start with when you meet with one of our bankers, you’re dealing with someone who lives in and understands your community. For us, relationship banking means building real connections with the people who live and work here.
“One of the greatest satisfactions that we have as community bankers is to help individuals, families, local business owners, and farmers succeed. Whether it’s finding them the right loan, helping business owners with merchant processing and cash management services, or just answering questions about banking and financial issues,” said Peoples Bank CEO Al Vermeer. “With April being Community Banking Month, this is a great time to remind our customers that every customer is important to us, and we do all we can to help our neighbors.”
A report by the Federal Reserve last year revealed that community banks provide more than 60% of small business loans and more than 80% of agricultural loans. Applicants that sought loans from small banks were more likely to be fully approved than those who sought loans from other lenders. Satisfaction with lenders was also much higher with smaller banks (70%) compared to large banks (59%), and online lenders (28%).
Why Community Banking Month Matters in April
With April being Community Banking Month, we wanted to highlight the important role that relationship-driven banks like Peoples Bank have in fostering a strong business climate, economic development, and reinvesting your deposits back into our local communities and businesses.
What Community Banking Month is all about
As bankers, we’re so busy serving our customers that we rarely get to sit back and talk about the positive impact we have and what sets us apart from our larger competitors.
Why Local Banking Still Matters
Local banking matters because it keeps financial decisions rooted in the lives of the people and communities they affect. Unlike big banks, we understand the unique needs of our customers, businesses, farmers, and communities, allowing us to deliver personalized services and make decisions with local impact in mind. Deposits stay close to home, supporting local loans, small businesses, nonprofits, and community projects that drive economic growth and stability. Just as important, local banks build long‑term relationships built on trust, accountability, and a shared commitment to strengthening the community, proving that even in a digital world, banking is still very much about people.
Banking Local Offers More Than Competitive Products
When it comes to community banks vs. big banks, we can offer the same kind of checking accounts, business accounts, and loans that the larger banks have.
Relationship Banking & Personal Service
We get to know our customers, take the time to understand their needs, and do what we can to accommodate them. We know we still have to compete, and we do that through building relationships and providing better service.
Local Decision-Making That Feels More Human
With megabanks, loan applications might need approval from someone in an office tower in another part of the country. This makes it impossible for them to really understand our local economy, our housing market, and business community. When you meet with one of our bankers, they can explain our loan approval process and help you find the right solution for your needs.
Support for Local Businesses & Local Growth
When you deposit your funds with a community bank like Peoples Bank, they don’t just stay here in a vault or get sent off to another part of the country. Every time a customer deposits money into a local bank account, those dollars help businesses, schools, organizations, farmers and families thrive. The dollars in your bank account truly make an impact, fueling opportunities for small businesses, supporting hardworking farmers, and creating brighter futures for families in our communities.
What Big Banks Often Can’t Replicate
In many cases the person you meet with at a larger bank doesn’t have the authority to grant you a business loan or approve your mortgage. Your loan application could be up to a computer algorithm for approval or rejection, and maybe it’s rubberstamped by someone in a different time zone. As a community bank, we offer:
Community Knowledge
We’re a part of this community just like you are. Our kids go to the same schools; we shop in the same places and probably dine at many of the same restaurants. We have the kind of firsthand knowledge of our community that larger banks can’t match.
Accessibility & Accountability
We like to get to know our customers, and they have no problem reaching us whenever they have a question or need our services. If you have a question about our banking services or a loan application, we take the time to give you the answers you need.
Banking with People Who Know Our Communities
If you were looking to buy a home or a business property, would you call a realtor in New York or California? Probably not. They wouldn’t have a clue about what’s available and what the local real estate market is like. The same is true when it comes to community banks vs big banks. We understand our local economy, business community, and housing market in ways that megabanks just can’t match.
Why Peoples Bank Fits the Community Banking Month Message
The Independent Community Bankers of America designates April as Community Banking Month as a way of reminding Americans of the important role that community banks play in supporting local businesses and fostering strong neighborhoods through relationship-driven banking services. We are proud to be a community bank Where Values Matter! and strive enrich families and communities through our actions.
Serving Northwest Iowa, Southwest Minnesota, & Southeast South Dakota
We have ten locations in Rock Valley, Lester, Sioux Center, Akron, Sheldon, and Hawarden, Hinton, & Sioux City, Iowa; Jasper, Minnesota; & North Sioux City, South Dakota
Products for Personal & Business Banking Needs
Even though we’re a community bank, we can offer the same products as the larger banks. This includes Online & Mobile Banking, as well as these types of business products:
- Four types of Personal Checking Accounts
- Personal Savings, Money Market Accounts, & CDs
- Mortgage Loans, Refinancing, HELOCs, & Home Construction Loans
- Business Checking Accounts fit to your needs
- Agricultural Loans for buying equipment, livestock, and real estate
- Business loans: Commercial term loans, construction and real estate loans, and those backed by the Small Business Administration (SBA)
Contact a Location Today
If you’d like to explore your local banking benefits with a personal checking or business banking options, or switch your accounts to Peoples Bank, please set up a meeting with one of our bankers by contacting us or visiting one of our locations in Iowa, Minnesota, and South Dakota.