Independent Bankers Association of New York State

7 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 7 are a lot of long-tenured employees, mostly customer-facing people, who are loyal to their local bank. You see a lot more turnover in big banks. And some of the more technology-specific jobs are hard to find talent for, whether it’s a pandemic or not.” BVM: Looking ahead, what is your take on the future of community banks in New York State? Witkowski: “We all know that the industry is in a consolidation mode. A lot of community banks have been acquired or merged over the last 10-12 years. But the biggest issue we have is not being on a level playing field with some of our competitors. I think that’s unfair to the community banks and the banking system, itself. Credit unions are becoming bigger and more powerful at the top end… but don’t get me wrong, some of the small credit unions are having the same issues we’re having, with their larger counterparts that are taking over. “So I think it’s time for some regulation from the people who make the rules; to look back and see why credit unions were created and what they were meant to do, and what community banks have done for their communities and the small businesses in those areas. That’s the biggest issue I see community banks being worried about, that they are still being very heavily regulated. Which is fine, as long as it’s done evenly across the board. That will make things a lot better. We’re not afraid of competition, let’s just try to level the playing field. “On a positive note, I’m sure community banks are here to stay, the branch networks are here to stay – I see it being a very strong industry in the years ahead and IBANYS will continue to be a viable voice for our members.”