Pub. 3 2015 Issue 4

6 The Community Banker www.mibonline.org H ow do Montanans choose the institution with which they will bank? This past November, MIB teamed up with our friends at the Montana chamber of Commerce to find out the answers to that question through a telephone poll to 800 Montanans. These people were asked what factor or factors they take into account when choosing a financial institution. The results of the poll were informative and enlightening. As indicated by the following graph, Montanans indicat- ed that local ownership of a financial institution is the most important consideration for choosing that institution as their primary place of banking. This factor was followed by receiv- ing good customer service, the convenience of the institution’s location, and receiving low ATM and/or account fees. 2014 P-Base Sponsor Question Results for MIB 20. When it comes to choos- ing a bank, which two of the following factors are most im- portant in your decision? • Bank is locally-owned 47% • Good customer service 39% • Convenient location 25% • Low ATM and account fees 21% • Ability to obtain a loan 13% • Familiarity with the bank brand name 10% • Referral by friend, co-worker or family 9% • Other 3% • Don’t know 5% Equally as informative as to the reasons why Montanans select a particular financial institution are the factors that are not important for doing so. The majority of those polled indicated that their ability to obtain a loan, their familiarity with the bank brand name, and/ or a referral from a friend or relative were not factors that contributed to their choosing a particular bank. The results of this poll are positive for the Association and its membership both at the present time and into the future. They demonstrate that Montanans are still choosing their financial institution based primarily on whether the bank is locally owned. The poll also in- dicates that Montana’s banking customers place a lot of stock in quality customer service, which is an area where MIB’s members retain a competitive advantage over the national and too-big- to-fail financial institutions. All- in-all, the poll numbers indicate that Montana community banks are well-positioned to keep and retain customers in the coming years. In addition, the poll touched on another issue of interest to the industry: whether the state legislature should pass legislation during 2015 to make the price of home sale a matter of public record. The results showed that 51% oppose such legislation and only 39% of Montanan’s approved. Speaking of the Montana legislature, as I write this, the 2015 Legislature just commenced and is slated to end in late April. Some of the big issues for the session appear to be the Governor’s proposals to expand Medicaid cover- age, to create a pre-K ed- ucation program, infrastructure mitigation for the counties im- pacted by the Bakken oil boom, and funding for state building repairs and improvements. The 2015 Legislature once again sees the Republican Party controlling both the House and Senate. Republicans lost a few seats in the House but will still have a decisive 59-41 majority. The Senate will have the same 29-21 Republican majority as was the case in the 2013 Session. Thus, as has been the case since the 2005 legislative session, a Republican legislature will be working with, or against, a Democratic Party governor. The MIB has a light legislative agenda going into the 2015 ses- sion. Much of the Association’s focus will be on defeating or mitigating potentially harmful bills to the industry, such as those bills that tend toward imposing additional reg- ulatory burdens and/or Executive Director’s Report