With shoppers budgeting and beginning to make their holiday shopping lists, the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) is encouraging consumers to Go Local once again this holiday season by doing either a portion, or all of their shopping, at local small businesses. By doing so, consumers will be putting money back to work in their community, just like they do every time they dine at a local restaurant or choose to bank locally with a community bank.
“The holidays are all about giving, so it’s the perfect time to give back to your community by choosing to spend your dollars locally, where it will be used to help support the local small businesses, which drive jobs and vibrancy in your local community,” said Bill Loving, ICBA chairman and president of Pendleton Community Bank, Franklin, W.Va. “So go ahead and spread some holiday cheer locally this year.
By doing so, you’ll be able to cross items off of your shopping list and make lots of folks happy—all the while reinvesting in your community—helping it prosper during the holidays and well into the New Year.” Community banks themselves are huge advocates and supporters of local small businesses. In fact, even though community banks comprise only 20 percent of banking industry assets, community banks with less than $10 billion in assets provide nearly 60 percent of outstanding bank small business loans.
And because community banks are small businesses themselves, they are able to partner with their small business customers to help them understand local market dynamics and the opportunities and challenges that small businesses in their area face. “It is no secret that by lending to small businesses, community banks help their local economies thrive and flourish,” said Camden R. Fine, ICBA president and CEO. “American shoppers have the same power this holiday season. I encourage everyone to take time this holiday season to visit local businesses and see what products you can obtain locally and see the services these companies have to offer.”
The Independent Community Bankers of America, the nation’s voice for nearly 7,000 community banks of all sizes and charter types, is dedicated exclusively to representing the interests of the community banking industry and its membership through effective advocacy, best-in-class education, and high-quality products and services.
For more information, visit www.icba.org.
