James Snook, Vice President/District Manager Community Bank NA
What trends in customer enrollment and retention are you seeing and how are you dealing with them?
In Q3 of 2020 Community launched a new digital banking platform that greatly improved the user experience of our online and mobile banking. This new platform ensured that customers could bank safely from the comfort of their homes. We also offer customers online mortgage applications that help make the loan and home buying process more accessible as customers continue to navigate COVID-19 constraints. Other self-service options include online deposit account opening, personal loan applications and credit card applications.
What are you doing to stay ahead of cyber criminals?
Our Information Security team is up to date on all trends and consistently monitors for cyber threats and works tirelessly around the clock to ensure that all potential security vulnerabilities are identified and fixed. Additionally, Community Bank believes that consumers should be educated on steps they can take to avoid being targeted by cyber criminals. We regularly publish and share educational content on how consumers can protect themselves from phishing, skimming and more.
What is the greatest asset traditional banks have to offer?
Community Bank branches are staffed and run by local residents that take great pride in being able to provide their community with trusted and reliable financial services. Our president and CEO Mark Tryniski often says, “We aren’t in the banking business; we are in the people business” and he has empowered us with local lending authority and local decision making. Despite major advances in digital banking technology, there is simply no replacement for a human-to-human connection.
To what degree is local community reinvestment of your deposits a priority?
Every year, Community Bank employees give generously of their time, enthusiasm and expertise by actively participating in local causes. We could not be prouder of how our team members across our more than 225 branches have pulled together to take care of our customers, our communities and each other. In 2020, we invested 4,698 volunteer hours, supported 2,100 organizations, invested $2.2m in donations, grants, and sponsorships and donated over $469k to food banks, shelters, healthcare, fire departments, and more.
Community Bank System Inc. operates more than 235 customer facilities across Upstate New York, Northeastern Pennsylvania, Vermont and Western Massachusetts through its banking subsidiary, Community Bank N.A., and has been serving its communities for more than 150 years. In the North Country region Community Bank has 18 branches with three of them in Plattsburgh. With over $13 billion in assets, the DeWitt, New York-headquartered company is among the country’s 125 largest financial institutions. Community Bank N.A. has consistently been ranked among the top 12 best banks in America by Forbes Magazine since the list was first published in 2009, and was most recently ranked seventh in 2021.
Community Bank NA
Headquarters: 5821 Bridge Street
East Syracuse, NY 13057
315 449-0353
www.cbna.com