The Little Bank That Could

CBS Evening News: Community Bank Thriving Amid Crisis, Thanks To Old-Fashioned Standards

(CBS)  Every morning, Mark Young unlocks a door in his house, and takes a step back in time.

In places like Orwell, Vt., the president of the bank can still live in a house attached to the financial center of town, CBS News correspondent Michelle Miller reports.

It's the very same bank his grandfather ran some 100 years ago.

"If you're on Main Street in Orwell, Vt., you have an obligation to help folks," said Young.

Founded in 1832, things move at a more measured pace here. With $35 million in assets, and notes on 400 mortgages, it's still 20 percent down on every loan, and no re-selling or exotic lending schemes.

"The people know you, you know them," said bank teller Kathy Buxton. "They're not just numbers."

Important, when nationwide, community banks provide 35 percent of new capital to small businesses.

"We're in the fifth generation," Young said.

And like all those generations before him, Young puts his 5,500 customers through tough financial screening, but also "the character test."

"You know, they come in here and sit in that chair," Young said. "It's the interaction with that customer. That with me, anyway, scores as heavily as the credit score and the finances."

Take David Crane, who's building his own home on his own land. As a young self-employed plumber, the big banks all dismissed him.

It was his American dream.

"It is. Made do-able by going to a smaller institution where somebody took time with you personally and understood what your dream was," Crane said.

Young doesn't presume to have all the answers, but wonders if Wall Street would be in this situation if they had listened to what his father always used to say.

"If you can pay the customers a good rate of interest, if you can help your customers, if you can pay your employees and have some money left over at the end of the year - what's better than that?" Young said.

A common sense approach for these uncommon economic times.

[eggy1620]

0 percent down loan is the only option if you do not wish to enrich a greedy landlord for 15 years while you save a few hundred each month.

[maggg1]

I have a mortgage with our bank here and this is why we do business together. We don''t trust the banks down in Boston or the rest of the country that gave Intrest Only loans or 0 down loans. Why do you think the rest of the county failed financially. You should always have at least 20% down for a home.

[eggy1620]

Who in the world, other than the rich, have enough cash on hand to put 20 percent down on a mortgage?

[swingset4u]

This is why I prefer to do business with my "COMMUNITY" bank. Tyey actuall know you and you don''t have to have millions on deposit. US BANK SUCKS!

[bradyou]

Thank goodness that this bank wasn''t gobbled up by the "Big Multinational Banks".

I''m sure that the community of Orwell is proud to have this institution which is accountable to its customers and shareholders.

Like banks, government works best when more directly accountable to local constituents.

It''s not merely reducing the size of government that is required, but shifting government to "community governing". That is, shift the money and accountability to elected officials in the local community rather than in Washington (or foreign governments).

Just like the financial institutions need to shift back to community banking- and fast, so too must the government begin this shift - and fast.

This is great video with great lessons in an extremely troubling time.

[bradyou]

Thank goodness that this bank wasn''t gobbled up by the "Big Multinational Banks". I''m sure that the community of Orwell is proud to have this institution accountable to its customers and shareholders.

Like banks, government works best when accountable to local constituents.

It''s not merely reducing the size of government that is required, but shifting government to "community governing". That is, shift the money and accountability to elected officials in the local community rather than in Washington (or foreign governments).

Just like the financial institutions need to shift back to community banking- and fast, so too must the government begin this shift - and fast.

This is great video with great lessons in an extremely troubling time.