Independent Banker - April 2021 - 65
Oak Valley Community Bank: Moving mountains for its customers
About 20 years ago, Oak Valley Community Bank got
a call from a resort owner in Bridgeport, Calif., asking
if the $1.5 billion-asset bank could open a location
there. A large national bank had closed its branch in the
tourist town, leaving the area without a bank to handle
cash services.
Oak Valley Community Bank is located in Oakdale,
Calif., which is about 100 miles away from Bridgeport
and on the other side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
But the community bank's then-CEO recognized the
opportunity and opened a branch in Bridgeport.
Two decades on, Bridgeport, a tourist destination, has
struggled during the pandemic. Like other communities
with tourism-heavy economies, it and nearby towns
were slammed particularly hard by COVID-19 and
subsequent shutdown orders. They desperately needed
financial help. Oak Valley Community Bank, which had
since opened two other branches on the eastern side of
the Sierras, stepped up and delivered.
" Nobody else was giving PPP [Paycheck Protection
Program] loans on that side of the mountain, " says
Chris Courtney, the community bank's current president
and CEO. " At first, we talked to just our existing loan
customers. Then we realized, 'You know what, we have
the capacity. Let's do all customers, including deposit
customers.' And, as things went on, we realized we
could handle anybody in our footprint who [needed a
PPP loan]. "
Courtney reports that he and the community bank's
195 employees worked 45 straight days, often deep into
the night, to process PPP loan applications.
" I tell our directors that in the four quarters of 2020,
our employees worked the equivalent of five quarters, "
Courtney says. " And let me assure you, their bonuses
reflected it. We might have moved a few employees to
the next tax bracket. "
Their efforts led the community bank to service
$244 million in PPP loans. Among the recipients was
Bob Peters, owner of the Bridgeport Inn, who wrote a
note of gratitude: " Our business, the Bridgeport Inn, and
many other small businesses in our rural county are the
fabric of our communities and source of our financial
stability. Almost everyone is in serious financial need.
Your attention to our use of the PPP loan program and
Oak Valley Community Bank's quick support of the
program for their customers has been remarkable. "
The effect of the loans really hit home when Courtney
attended a business executive's club event in the fall.
The 45 attendees went around the table and introduced
themselves, and several mentioned that they had
received PPP money from Oak Valley Community Bank.
" I happened to be the last person to stand up and
introduce myself [from the bank], and when I said I'm
the CEO of Oak Valley Community Bank, the entire
table started clapping, " he says. " At that point, I realized
what we had done. "
marketing opportunity of a lifetime. "
Oak Valley Community Bank's PPP lending
generated good feelings even in communities it
typically doesn't serve. For example, when Courtney
learned that the local bank in Lone Pine, Calif., was not
participating in the PPP, he extended the community
bank's lending to the remote town in Owens Valley
through Eastern Sierra Community Bank, a division
of Oak Valley Community Bank. " We decided that
since the people of Lone Pine had nowhere to get PPP
funds, we would do PPP lending there, " he says. " This
wasn't about trying to open a branch there; it was
because we had to help that community. "
First National Bank of Las Animas in Las Animas,
Colo., also received overwhelmingly positive response
from its PPP lending. The community bank provided
$27 million in PPP loans across the seven communities
it serves, equivalent to more than 50% of the
bank's capital.
" There was a great deal of appreciation, " says Dale
Leighty, CEO and chairman of the board. " They got
taken care of. I would say one of the unintended
consequences of the PPP program was that it really
did strengthen our public relations and our image in
our community, since we were able to take care of
those things. "
independentbanker.org Q 65
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Independent Banker - April 2021
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Independent Banker - April 2021
Table of Contents
Independent Banker - April 2021 - Cover1
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Independent Banker - April 2021 - Table of Contents
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