FBB:
Local Banks not affected by Sub Prime Issues
February 1, 2008
Local and national news media recently has highly publicized the problem concerning the Sub Prime mortgage loans of the larger banks in our country. Many of these banks have written off billions of dollars in bad debts. However, most community banks experienced a good year in 2007, even though the housing market has been very slow. According to Charles E. Isch, President of First Bank of Berne, foreclosures have not changed a great deal for them over the past few years.
Many people think that it's very difficult to obtain a mortgage these days. While this may be the case for some sub prime borrowers, it is not necessarily true at First Bank of Berne where we have money to lend to the average credit worthy borrower. "We have not been involved in the risky sub prime credit market," stated Mr. Isch. "We are a conservative, well capitalized and locally owned bank. First Bank of Berne has a staff that understands the needs of the communities we serve," said Mr. Isch.
First Bank of Berne continues to grow in deposits and loans each year with assets approaching 400 million dollars and capital reserves of 34 million dollars.
Equal Housing Lender |