A community bank is a safe place where investment funds are at less risk than the larger banks that are now realizing astronomical declines in their stock values due to the current mortgage crisis and those losses are being passed along to its shareholders. Community Banking in general has always been a steadfast investment due to heightened credit management and local knowledge of their customers. Community Banks continue to provide higher than average returns than larger banks and experience little to no default on their loan portfolio. This combined with more liquidity enables community banks to continue to lend while the larger banks have slowed their lending activities.
This is why state and federal regulatory agencies have relayed to Albemarle Bank & Trust's (proposed) President/CEO Eric Bergevin that the tail end of a recession is the best time to start a community bank.
Shareholders agree and why many are still investing in startup banks by utilizing cash, selling national bank stocks or rolling funds from their existing IRA's. With the ability to roll all, or a portion of IRA funds into community bank stock, investors are able to diversify and protect their retirement funds while supporting their community and taking advantage of an industry that has a proven track record for producing higher returns and lower investment risk, all factors being clearly favorable in today's economic market.
In a recent interview with Wesley and Connie Martin, founders of AB&T (proposed) they stated that they have decided to further invest additional funds by rolling their existing IRA funds that they say are currently realizing significant loss and they feel placing them in a low risk environment such as a community bank is something they feel is a smart move for them during these seemingly questionable times and once the bank opens, they feel this now safe vehicle will prove to be profitable as well. -- Albemarle Bank & Trust
