One of the charms of small-town life is the ease with which one can do routine errands. Trips to the post office, grocery store, and bank can all be done within the time of a Super Bowl halftime show.
But for an increasing number of rural residents, their banks are closing.
According to Monday’s Wall Street Journal, more than 1,700 bank branches across rural America closed in 2017, the biggest decline of an eight-year trend.
Rubbing salt into the wound is that bank profits, meanwhile, are soaring. Bank of America, for instance, just completed a record year, thanks in part to its shuttering low-performing branches in predominantly rural locations. Over the past five years Bank of America has closed 1,500 banks across America’s hinterlands. Meanwhile, it has plans to open branches in upper-income areas such as urban and suburban locations.
It’s pretty much a no-brainer.
Rural locations lack the volume and the depth compared to their urban counterparts. Rock-bottom interest rates also have kept investors away while higher regulatory costs have made it all but impossible for small business people and farmers to secure loans.
The proverbial straw was the onset of online and mobile banking where customers could perform routine transactions from home, reducing the need for brick-and-mortar banks.
Studies show losing a bank can depress business lending by up to 8 percent for several years hence, meaning potential ventures have the air knocked out of them at first breath. Just like a school or grocery, a bank is critical to a community’s economic infrastructure.
NOT TO JINX our situation, but Allen County seems relatively safe from becoming a bank desert. The Bank of Gas, for instance, is a stronghold of the local Curry family and most of our other banks have regional ties with familiar faces. They all have been good neighbors and remain committed to making our communities vibrant and strong.
So next time you need to visit a bank, pop in and say “Thanks, we’re glad you’re here.”
Good relationships can’t be taken for granted.
— Susan Lynn
