CSB Insights

Big Bank or Small Bank?

I think we can all agree that the foundation of community is built around relationships. These relationships can start as early as your youngest childhood memory and continue to develop throughout your lifetime.

Who was once your teacher is now your son’s principal. Your childhood doctor is now retired and president of a nonprofit where you spend your time. Your best friend from high school is your local realtor that helped make your dream house a reality. A progressing community is always changing and growing with one another.

When presented with the question “Big Bank or Small Bank?”, I can only speak on my personal experience.

A smaller financial institution is one where the foundation of a relationship is developed and valued. It’s a place you can go to and know your daughter can grow her savings account one handful of pennies at a time, where there is a specialized plan designed for your personal journey, and you, as an entrepreneur, can grow your business with the guidance and wide variety of products available assisting you along your path to success.

Community banks, compared to that of a larger financial institution, focus on a smaller market and often times have the flexibility of offering products that aim to positively impact that specific area whether with smaller fees and free accounts or access to online banking and credit report features.

My professional and personal experiences have led me to CSB. A small community bank, with 5 branches, 60+ employees, and a progressive and caring culture that cannot be matched elsewhere.

There is nothing offered at a “big bank” that I cannot get at CSB.

Think “small” and keep dreaming big!

Written by Kristen Dunlap

Kendallville Branch Manager at Community State Bank
kristend@csbemail.com
260.347.9000
April, 2024

Definition of a Community Bank?

Did you know that Community State Bank has been around since 1931? You can read all about it on Our Legacy page – it’s really a cool story to read. We were designed from the very beginning to help our community be more successful through providing meaningful financial services and support. From day one, we have been called “Community State Bank”. It’s who we are – a community bank. I have a question for you. Other than the “feel-good, we’re here for you” type of descriptions, do you think you could define what makes a bank a community bank?

People naturally lean towards the relationship and individualized support descriptors a community bank offers, because that’s the part that makes a lasting impression. While that positive impact is so important, I want to actually talk about the logistics of it. The Federal Reserve defines community banks as having less than $10 billion in assets. That seems like a lot, and it is! But just to make sure you understand what assets are at a bank, the biggest one is the money we lend out to people. To put that in perspective, we could easily lend out a couple million dollars to a single, local business every year, which does start to add up. We are still under that threshold though, which is why we can call ourselves a community bank.

Additionally, the ownership structure of community banks is typically different than large financial institutions. For community banks, owners are typically local which means that decisions are made locally, and profits are kept local. All of these traits are benefits to our customers. Another huge benefit to working with local customers is that we can actually incorporate the reputation and integrity of the business owners into our decision-making, since we have an existing relationship with them. Big banks can’t cultivate and develop relationships like that when they are located in cities or even states far away.

Additionally, if you were interested in borrowing money that was outside of the typical cookie-cutter guidelines, a larger bank would have a lot of red tape to cut through. Sometimes this can be done, and other times it’s just not possible – either way, it takes a lot of time. At a community bank, our team is intentional about understanding the timeline associated with new loan requests and works to not only meet those expectations, but exceed expectations and needs with determination and urgency. Our flexibility and size allow us to do this, and our interest in our individual customers is what motivates us.

Which leads us right back to the feel-good and heart-warming relationship side of community banking. While there are regulations in place for all banks to ensure financial institutions are not being unfair or biased towards customers, there are still opportunities for personalized lending and outstanding customer service when you are working with a bank that is dedicated to the success of every customer. Not only can our team provide one-on-one support, but they can also help you understand your options and guide you through what has worked in the past for similar customers.

Our team is living right here in the same communities you are, which means we understand what’s happening and how huge some obstacles feel. We go where we are needed and reach out to customers as new or better opportunities arise for them. This is only possible because of the team we have and their dedication to our community. They learn what our community needs and help us be responsive in a way that pushes us as a bank to be even more relevant. We can’t wait to share more about this in future blogs.

This is just the beginning of what makes CSB special. We have spent the last 90+ years identifying customer needs and making ourselves a better fit for you – so start a conversation with us! We would love to see what we can do to help you along your financial journey!

Written by Carianne Bricker

Marketing Coordinator at Community State Bank
Marketing@csbemail.com
260.994.0571
February, 2024

The Home Office Scam

Imagine this scenario: You’re eagerly searching for a job, excited about the prospect of a new opportunity. You come across what seems like a dream job listing from a well-known company on LinkedIn. The position offers fantastic pay, flexible hours, and the chance to work remotely. It all seems too good to be true, but you apply anyway, hoping for the best.
You can’t believe it! Someone actually responded. It’s a real job! They praise your qualifications and offer you the job on the spot. They are even going to reimburse you up to $2,000 for your home office materials. You go through the website they provided and pick out all the things you need – and even just some fun things too because $2,000 is a lot of money. Life might really be turning around.

But as the days pass, something feels off. You reach out to the recruiter to make sure everything is set for your first day, but they’re suddenly unreachable. And when you try to find the job listing again on LinkedIn, it’s nowhere to be found. It slowly starts to dawn on you that you’ve been job scammed. Your hard-earned money is gone and there’s nothing to do about it.
It's like a punch to the gut, leaving you with the weight of disappointment and betrayal. You were just trying to find a job, but instead you’ve fallen victim to a heartless scheme designed to exploit your trust and desperation. As you reflect on your experience, you can’t help but feel a mix of anger, frustration, and betrayal. After all, you were just trying to make an honest living, but now you’re left picking up the pieces of a shattered dream.

When looking for a new job, especially on LinkedIn, please take extra time and precautions before clicking on any links or submitting personal information. The extra time and precautions that you take can help save your identity and your financials in the future.

After realizing that you have been scammed, you feel panicked and worried about what to do. You take a second to gather your thoughts and start making important phone calls. You first reach out to your bank, explaining the situation. Your bank then tells you what actions they can do to make sure you and your accounts are protected moving forward. Next, you call the credit bureau, seeking their expertise in unraveling the mess and safeguarding your financial future. Just to be extra safe, you then call the Social Security Office, so they can help protect your identity from being compromised.

How to Spot Job Scams

• Look for grammatical and typographical errors
• Vague job descriptions
• Promises of high salaries with minimal effort
• Request for personal information
• No company website or contact information
• Unprofessional communication

How to Avoid Job Scams

• Verify the company and job posting
• Check the profile of the recruiter
• Use LinkedIn’s “Report” feature
• Protect your personal information
• Research the company
• Seek recommendations

Written by Molly Abel

Customer Service Specialist at Community State Bank
Marketing@csbemail.com
May, 2024

A Dozen Tips to Prevent Fraud

Fraudulent activity continues to be on the rise, so it is likely that you have either experienced fraud, or you know someone who has been a victim of fraud. Checks continue to be the payment method most vulnerable to fraud, and wire transfers are the top payment method used in Business Email Compromise schemes.

There are numerous plots used by criminals to conspire against their victims for monetary gain which is why it’s so important for us to be on guard at all times. Here are 12 tips to consider that will be helpful to minimize your overall exposure:

1.   Don’t send your information through the mail. Set up electronic statements with your bank instead of bank statements being mailed to you.
2.   Stay up-to-date on your accounts. View your accounts daily through online banking versus waiting for monthly statement. To make things even more secure, set up Alert Notifications to help monitor and inform you of activity occurring on your accounts.
3.   When you need to mail checks, drop them off inside the post office instead of placing them in an outside drop box that is unsecured.
4.   When possible, opt in to pay your bills through a secured electronic payment avenue instead of mailing out checks.
5.  Keep your information PRIVATE. Never view your account information or confidential data through a publicly shared WI-FI connection.
6.   Shred any confidential information before disposing of it in the trash.
7.   ONLY give your account information to a trusted source or advisor, and ONLY when it’s necessary.
8.   Don’t accept changes or divulge information via an email that appears to be a known source. Contact them through a known phone number to validate the request or change.
9.   Always be on the lookout for suspicious activity. Do not click on any links or attachments received in an email that you were not expecting.
10.   Talk to your bank about fraud prevention tools that are offered to assist in protecting your finances, such as Check Positive Pay and ACH Fraud Filter.
11.   Contact your insurance company to review any policy protection options for fraud losses.
12.   And finally, timing matters so notify the bank immediately of any fraudulent activity, account information compromise, or personal data exposure. It’s also important to notify the police and file a report for any fraudulent losses that you experience.

The best protection of all is to be diligent in your daily activities. Stop, think, and question before reacting and taking any action. Reach out to our team to help you implement some of these tips!

Written by Debra Blair

Vice President & Treasury Management Officer at Community State Bank
debrab@csbemail.com
February, 2024

Keep Your Small Business Secure

Our team at CSB would like to provide you with this resource we found educational useful for small businesses on fraud. We find that fraud is constantly changing and difficult to predict. Our team is always working hard to keep your money safe and secure – but we need your help. Below is content from an article from American Bankers Association that discusses 5 areas to focus on around the importance of awareness and some ways you can help protect your small business against fraud.

S. Stay Informed
You and your employees are the first line of defense against account takeover. Keeping your team informed about warning signs, safe practices, and responses to a suspected takeover are essential to protecting your company and customers.

E. Engage Your Bank
CSB has various programs that safeguard you from unauthorized transactions. Positive Pay and other services offer call backs, device authentication, multi-person approval processes, and batch limits to help protect you from fraud. Contact your banker today to get signed up!

C. Connect Securely
It is important to protect your cyber environment just as you would your cash and your physical location. Do not use unprotected internet connections. Encrypt sensitive data and keep updated virus protections on your computer.

U. Understand Responsibilities
Understanding the risks to you as a small business is important as business bank accounts do not enjoy some of the same protections as a personal bank account when it comes to fraud. Banks are not responsible for replacing funds if a hacker takes money from your business account.

R. Recognize Suspicious Activity
Look out for unexplained account activity. Setting up email alerts to receive notifications any time money is withdrawn from your account is a great way to alert you about withdrawals. If you detect something, immediately contact us at 800.488.3958.

Cybercriminals are targeting small businesses with increasingly sophisticated attacks. Criminals use many means to obtain login credentials to business accounts, transfer funds from the accounts, steal private information, etc. Too often business owners believe that FDIC Insurance will protect you from fraud; it does not. FDIC Insurance only protects you from bank insolvency. Partner with us and stay SECURE today!

Summarized by Carianne Bricker

Marketing Coordinator at Community State Bank
Marketing@csbemail.com
260.994.0571
January, 2024

CSB Releases First Quarter Report

AVILLA — Community State Bank has announces that it generated $1,430,000 of earnings as of March 31, 2024, representing 15% earnings increase in comparison to March 31, 2023. Further, the bank’s asset base climbed 16% over the same period and stood at $463 million as of March 31, 2024.

The bank also announced the board of directors approved a first quarter dividend payout of $1.02 per share, up 2% from the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2023.

Community State Bank CEO Will Thatcher said, “We are pleased with the first quarter earnings. Overcoming the headwinds of rapidly rising deposit costs over the past five quarters has been a challenge for us and the industry. We have benefitted from 14% growth in loans but no less important is that the bank has been able to grow its deposit base by 11% in a highly competitive marketplace...

Read the full article at KPCNews.com.