Speaker Kari Gaugenti

Kari Guargenti is a branch manager of the Amherst Evans Bank on Sheridan Drive.  She gave us a compelling presentation of the virtues of doing business with a community bank rather than a large corporate bank.  There are over 8,000 community banks in the country with over 50,000 locations.  The assets of community banks range from $10 million to $10 billion.  Community banks make up over 97% of the total banking industry in the country, and they are the primary source of lending to individuals and small businesses.

Those who run the community banks actually live in the communities they serve.  For example, the CEO of Evans Bank lives in Amherst.  They are not some un-reachable figurehead living somewhere in Palm Springs.  They commit to the communities in which they live.  They have a tendency to channel their loans to the neighborheeds they serve, and all of the decision making concerning loans are made right in the community.  In fact, it's a good chance that the person you speak to in applying for your loan will be the person making the decision.

Just so you know, Evans Bank has 13 locations in WNY and has assets of $615 million with $568 million in deposits.