Business View Magazine | Volume 9, Issue 3

95 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 3 over 80 percent of our banks are in towns of less than 2500 people. Our lending concentrations in our banks are overwhelmingly ag-related, so what we face is a very different business model than what you’ll find with the big banks on the coast.” BVM: Did you find that a lot of new customers brought their business to community banks to get PPP loan access and stayed because they were treated so well? Hallman: “A great many of our member banks throughout the state were the beneficiaries of referral opportunities through PPP. Businesses that had historically worked through the tier-one bank system weren’t receiving the attention that they needed, and the timeliness of their request was falling through the cracks. We had dozens and dozens that had PPP referrals to help those people and that ultimately led to other business deposits and lending relationships beyond the PPP process. “It really allowed us to show the value of community banking from a relationship standpoint. It’s a generational relationship and what can’t be overlooked, our community banks aren’t publicly held (typically). They’re family- owned businesses, just like the local hardware or grocery store. Our banks are small businesses in their community, no different than the customers they serve. That’s the huge value.” BVM: What are some of the key challenges community banks are facing? Hallman: “We’ve come a long way over the years, but the pace at which things are moving today is so much faster than it had been for decades. One of the issues that we’re trying to advocate in favor of is a reduction in regulatory and compliance burdens. It’s caused a problem not only for existing banks, from a staffing standpoint and a knowledge standpoint, but for the industry, the regulatory and compliance NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT COMMUNI TY BANKERS (NI CB)