HOMEGROWN BUSINESS: Bloomburg State Bank
Submitted by Casscounty1 on
Customer service, commitment key to 100 year-old bank
By Bobby Horn Jr.
The date was Feb. 1, 1916. Europe in embroiled in the “War To End All Wars” (the U.S. would not enter W.W. I until the following year when German U-Boats sank seven U.S. merchant ships) and Bloomburg State Bank opened its doors for the first time.
Since then, the bank has gone through the Great Depression, more wars, an armed robbery, and numerous banking regulations but has continued to go strong.
Jeff Hobbs, president of the bank, said that bank’s longevity can be attributed their commitment to the community. “We want to serve Bloomburg with good, local, old-time style banking and we have been able to accomplish that. The people of Atlanta, and this whole area, have been good to us. And that includes Doddridge. We have a lot of customers come from Doddridge and LaFayette County.”
Hobbs became president of the bank in March 2014 when a group of investors purchased shares of stock from the George Moody Trust. Moody had previously served as president for 26 years.
Of the group of investors, all but one live in Cass County (the other lives in Gregg County).
On a desk in the bank is a sign that reads “Everybody is somebody to us.” This is what separates Bloomburg State Bank from other banks.
Sharon Hartline has been with the bank for 39 years, going from drive-through teller to exectutive vice president/ loans. She said it is the interaction with customers that sets Bloomburg State Bank apart from the “big city” banks.
“Customers come here and they keep coming back because they see how you treat them and how you have treated their family. At larger banks you can’t get that same type of customer loyalty. Here you are a person, not a number.”
She noted that her grandfather, her great grandfather and her husband’s family has banked with Bloomburg.
Hobbs said that this customer connection has also allowed them to double their loan volume since 2014.
“We know our customers,” Hobbs said. “We can evaluate them better because they are more than just a credit score to us. We can see special circumstances better than larger banks.”
The Bloomburg community has responded in-kind and is fiercely loyal to the bank...
PHOTO: By Bobby Horn Jr.
Bloomburg State Bank President Jeff Hobbs goes through some old newspaper clippings.
Read the full article in the midweek edition of the Citizens Journal.
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