The Headache:
Question Customers Ask Today
While large banks have communications staffs and “spin control” for some of the uncomfortable news coming out these days, community banks typically have their own banking staff fielding the questions caused by today’s rocky economy. We asked bankers what they were hearing and what they were answering. Below is what they passed on.
If you have another question—and your answer—that you are getting from the public that you’d like to share, e-mail it to
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, and we’ll consider it for the online edition of this column at www.passtheaspirinplus.com. To submit new “Pass the Aspirin” questions, or volunteer to be a prescriber, also send to
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Remedy 1
Pamela J. Fawver, vice-president and branch manager, Bank of Lancaster, $325.5 million-assets, Kilmarnock, Va.
The most frequent question on the minds of borrowers has less to do with specific economic indicators, but more to do with, “What do the economic headlines mean to ‘me’ if I want to borrow money?” Borrowers suspect that lending terms have changed, but do not know to what extent.
Our bank has money to lend and the fundamental principles of qualifying for a loan request in our small community bank are much the same as they ever were. A lender must get to know the customer, the request, and financial strengths and weaknesses before a decision is made. Recent changes in our lending guidelines do not apply to many of our applicants and are often transparent to those to whom they do apply.
So what do we say to our customers? We say that we want to get to know their needs and circumstances well enough to not only answer what, if any, impact the current state of the economy has on their request, but, more importantly, to learn how Bank of Lancaster can help them meet their needs and achieve their goals.
Remedy 2
Frank L. Carson, III, president and CEO, Mulvane State Bank, $77.5 million-assets, Mulvane, Kan.
The question we’re hearing is: What effect is the subprime real estate issue having on your bank?
Our answer is that we did not make those type of loans, so there is no direct effect on our bank.
Remedy 3
Blair Hillyer, president and CEO, First National Bank,$171.5 million-assets, Dennison, Ohio.
The opening part of the question from customers is “You don’t have subprime mortgages, do you?”
When the answer from the bank is “no,” the followup question is, “Are you being affected in any manner from them?”
Our answer to that is “yes,” because home values are declining due to the glut of homes on the market.
We also tell them that we are damaged by borrowers who can’t pay their instalment or consumer loan with us because an irresponsible mortgage lender put them into a house they couldn’t afford. Without the mortgage, our borrower would probably be paying on time.
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