Benefits of “Going Local”

“The past few years have seen increased emphasis on “going local,” or supporting local communities by consuming products that are produced and sold by independent organizations rather than big-box, franchised retailers,” according to American Fork City Councilman, Dale Gunther in an article published in the February 2009 Utah County Business Journal. “The trend has really taken off…because it helps local communities thrive by reinvesting local dollars at home.”

“While it’s natural to think of products such as produce and art as part of the “going local” movement,” Gunther continues, “one product that is often overlooked is the community bank. Yes, the community bank is indeed a local product that supports local communities.”

So what are some benefits to banking with a local community bank? Here are a few cited by Mr. Gunther:

• “Community banks are locally owned and geographically centralized. This means the money deposited by citizens in your town is generally loaned back to citizens in your town” – not citizens or businesses in other states or even counties.
• “Local management also means faster decision making and less red tape.”
• “At community banks, there are fewer layers to get to the top, which means you have easier access to executives.”
• The employees of community banks are almost always from the community. They “know the community and have been working at the bank long enough to know how to best meet the needs of the community. They know the market and have a vested interest in seeing the local economy succeed.”
• Smaller banks are better to work with you when you have problems with your account. “[They] work with you to avoid fees in the first place and, when incurred, they don’t sting as much as those of their bigger brethren.”

When you consider “going local,” do as Mr. Gunther suggests and “realize that as much as spending locally lifts communities, saving and borrowing locally does, too,”

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