The Major Impact of Main Street: Benefit from our mission to support businesses of all sizes

According to USA Facts, small businesses—often called Main Street businesses in recognition of their roots as the center of a thriving community—make up more than 99 percent of all businesses in the USA, employing nearly half of all private-sector workers.

Yet, many regional and national banks ignore the unique needs of these Main Street businesses and focus their energy and investment on larger corporations.

As we celebrate Community Banking Month in April, it’s a great time to explore the ways Lake Ridge Bank’s community banking model prioritizes business relationships of all sizes as part of our ongoing mission to help our local economies—and local communities as a whole—thrive.

Shared Purpose

Lake Ridge Bank recognizes that our organizational mission meshes nicely with the growth of Main Street businesses. We don’t just finance your business loans, we are also patrons at your shops and restaurants and participants in your events. We entrust our children to local daycares, schools, clubs, and activities. We are ingrained in the fabric of local community culture, supporting home ownership, festivals, and recreational areas.

We know that locally owned and operated businesses are what drives local economies.

In return, Main Street businesses appreciate that shared vision as well. Consider that 60 percent of all small business loans and more than 80 percent of agriculture loans come from community banks like Lake Ridge Bank rather than our mega-sized counterparts.

We are literally putting our money where our mouth is…right here at home.

Community Banking Business Model

What makes the way we support local businesses so special? As national banks work to centralize operations, Lake Ridge Bank succeeds when you succeed by establishing strong roots in each city, town, and village we serve.

In a world that is going digital, we are going digital AND personal; it’s not either/or. In addition to providing the exact same technology tools for banking 24/7 conveniently, we also offer the on-location staff to bank intelligently…collaboratively…powerfully.

Here’s what that looks like:

• Enjoy full-service local offices rather than the skeleton-crew branches of other banks. We believe managing a business should be easier for clients, not easier for the bank, so every local office staffs experts in business banking, mortgage lending, financial advisory, wealth management, and traditional tellers (known at Lake Ridge Bank as personal bankers). These are people who live in your area and know the nuances of your community because it’s our community too.
  
• Take advantage of products and services available equally to all businesses of all sizes, including nonprofits and municipalities. Your worth and impact are not measured by the size of your balance sheet.
  
• See the value in keeping decision-making local to ensure we understand each client’s role in the area’s economy and personality. We shop, eat, and recreate in the same establishments that we help finance.
  
• Experience true partnership with services specifically tailored to nonprofits, municipalities, small businesses and large conglomerations because we believe your impact in the community should not be limited by lack of basic resources.
  
• Receive more than just a yes or no response to a loan application. We work with businesses to help you understand next steps and discover a solid path to reach your goals.
  
• Watch your community grow as we all rise together. Lake Ridge Bank also funds projects with socio-economic impact for women- and minority-owned ventures and other community-based investments that find ways to raise the standard of living for all.
  

In the end, Lake Ridge Bank is in more locations with more seasoned staff with expertise in a wider variety of specialty areas.

We are right here with you to support your financial needs at whatever size and stage your business is at, from start-up funding and lines of credit to accepting credit card payments and offering fraud protection tools to providing crop insurance to investing for growth and stability to ushering in your succession plans. We care about your goals from inception to succession – not just after you’ve made those millions.

Let us show you how community banking means community building.

For more information about Lake Ridge Bank’s Business Services, visit lakeridge.bank or call the location nearest you to get connected with someone on our business banking team.