Pub. 4 2016 Issue 1

6 The Community Banker www.mibonline.org Executive Director’s Report S pring has sprung! Are there any more glorious words in the English language when one lives in Montana? This is not to imply that the winter months are not busy and productive ones for the Association. In February, we joined in the Montana Cham- ber of Commerce’s Annual Power-Base (P-Base) Poll. This Poll surveys 800 voters state- wide to determine how those voters view various business and economic issues. As part of the Chamber’s effort, the Association polled the public as to whether they banked at a credit union, at a national bank, or at a community bank. The results of the poll were heartening for the industry. More than three-in-four voters (78%) answered that they bank with a locally-owned banking institution. Just 13% of those polled indicated they bank with an institution headquar- tered outside of Montana. In a follow-up question asking why the person chose to bank with an institution headquartered out-of-state, the most popular answer was the convenience of the branch location. The most likely demographic group to use an out-of-state institution is the 18-44 age group. Presumably, this choice is directly attributable to the fact that this age group is more mobile and more transient than the older than 45 age group. The poll indicates that the majority of Montanans desire to do business with a Montana-based community bank over any other type of financial institution. This is a testament to the high quality of services provided by MIB’s member banks to their cus- tomers. The results bode well for the continuing financial health of both the Association and its member banks, like your bank. The poll results are published below. I invite you to take a few minutes to review the results and the questions asked. I know you will find the grades informa - tive. MIB Power-Base Survey Question 2016 Results A.Do you bank with a local- ly-owned Montana-based financial institution or with a financial institution located outside of Mon- tana? 1. Locally-owned: 78% 2. Don’t know/refused: 9% 3. Located outside Montana: 13% B.If #3, which two of the fol- lowing factors were most important in your decision to bank with a financial institution located outside Montana? 1. Convention location or more branches: 42% 2. Need for banking services outside of Montana: 23% 3. Familiarity with the bank brand name: 21% 4. Better rates: 16% 5. Inconvenience of switch- ing banks: 16% 6. More or better technolo- gy options: 14% 7. Perceived higher confi - dentiality/security: 1% 8. Other: 8% 9. Don’t know/refused: 7% In addition to conducting the Power-Base Poll for the MIB membership’s benefit, the Association also hosted in March its annual Montana Reception at the ICBA Nation- al Convention. The National Convention was held in New Orleans, and, much to the Association’s pleasure, our Montana Reception was the most widely attended in its history. We estimate over 70 folks stopped by our room to rub elbows and talk banking. With the high attendance, the reception room got a bit crowded, which may neces- sitate that we find a bigger room for next year’s Montana ICBA Convention Reception to be held in San Antonio, Texas. MIB especially wishes to thank United Bankers’ Bank for sponsoring this reception at the highest level of $1,000, and our new associate mem- ber Modern Banking Systems for sponsoring at $250. Their sponsorship enables us to put on the best reception we can. We here at MIB were par- ticularly pleased to have the 2016 ICBA Chairman-Elect