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 It seems that you cannot open a
newspaper, view your favorite homepage, or watch the news on
television without hearing about the mortgage crisis and how it has
upset the financial markets. These problems have found Morton
Community Bank (MCB) and its affiliates unscathed. In fact, we are
growing and gaining strength because of the financial crises of some
banks.
Our policy has always been to make secure
loans, loans that customers are financially able to
payback...barring any unforeseen changes in their economic status.
We make sure we have collateral coverage if those unforeseen changes
come to pass. We did not get into the subprime lending market and,
therefore, have remained stable.
While some banks are offering high interest rates on
short-term investments (which shows they are desperate for
deposits), MCB has remained conservative on both the loan and
deposit sides.
After the fall of IndyMac and Countrywide
(2 of the largest issuers of high-priced CDs), you can begin to draw
the correlation between banks that pay high rates and those that
don’t!
Banks that have been conservative with
deposit and loan pricing and conservative with the safety and
soundness of their institution have remained stable. In other words,
sensibly priced deposits are a sign of stability and strength.
At a time when half of all the banks are
reported lower quarterly earnings in 2009 and through the first half
of 2010, with negative growth for all insured banks in 2009, MCB’s
Return On Equity is among the top 10 banks in Illinois! On average,
our asset and earnings size have doubled every four years during our
history and we intend to continue that success.
Gordon Honegger started at MCB when there
were only seven employees. This August 2010, with the purchase of
Tremont Savings Bank, MCB has 450 employees and 2.7 billion in
assets.
MCB is small enough to serve the customer
that desires the one-on-one personal service, yet large enough to
offer the high-tech services that our on-the-go customers expect.
The Owners and Directors of Morton
Community Bank have vowed to keep this organization a private,
locally-owned, community bank. As
we grow, we strive to keep the ‘small bank’ feel by giving each
office the community name and local employees, so that each
community keeps its small-town community bank.
If you are nervous about your current
bank’s stability, we encourage you to stop into one of our offices
and ask for our ‘Statement of Condition.’ Come grow with us! We are
proud of our strong financial condition.
Gordon Honegger
Co-Chairman HCB Chairman Emeritus
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