San Francisco Business Times
CEOs of Bay Area community banks and credit unions are seeking to reassure their customers in the wake of Silicon Valley Bank’s failure, emphasizing differences in everything from target markets to risk appetite to strategies for growth.
A common theme coming from the smaller institutions is that they serve a diverse customer base for both deposits and lending, with most saying that they avoid crypto businesses and high-risk tech startups altogether. The banks and credit unions want customers to know they have adequate liquidity, or access to cash, to meet customers’ needs.
Mechanics Bank President and CEO John DeCero took the opportunity to stress the bank’s approach to growth.
“Our No. 1 priority through the Great Depression, two world wars, the Great Financial Recession and today has always been to keep our depositors’ funds safe and sound,” DeCero told clients in a recent email in which he called Mechanics Bank, relative to its peers, “one of the most liquid banks in the country.”
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