By John A. Klebba, CEO, Legends Bank
Some 36 years ago, Dr. Robert H. Schuller wrote what would become a bestseller, titled Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do. In a relatively short 240 pages, Dr. Schuller teaches that each of us has the potential to achieve the best in life regardless of how tough times might get.
Our reality today is that times are tough – really tough. Few of us in the U.S. could have envisioned the radical changes that have upended our everyday lives, much less the speed of those changes. But despite our present circumstances, we need to remember the lessons embodied in Dr. Schuller’s book as we prepare for better times ahead.
In my humble opinion, governments at all levels are making the hard but necessary decisions to exit us from the coronavirus pandemic with the minimum amount of health, social and economic long-term damage. Certainly, bank regulators have highly encouraged banks to work with their customers in light of the new economic realities Americas face. It is our intent to do just that, and already we have had numerous conversations with our customers on what they need to tide them over until the situation improves.
At Legends Bank, even in those tough times we are continuing to focus on improving the customer experience for our ever-expanding base. In just the last few weeks we upgraded our website to allow both new and existing customers to open deposit accounts completely online. While our customers have had the ability for quite some time to apply for mortgages online, we are working to expand that capacity to include non-mortgage loan applications as well. In addition, before the end of this year we will be rolling out an enhanced person to person (P2P) payment system that will allow our customers to transfer funds from their Legends Bank account directly to someone else’s account using their mobile phones.
Our upgrades are not limited to our online platform. Later this year we will begin the planning stages to break ground on a new branch near the Forum Shopping Center in Rolla to serve our growing customer base there. In Linn we are in the process of more than doubling the size of our headquarters building, which will improve our ability to serve not only the Linn area but customers throughout our entire bank network. In addition, we continue to explore other expansion opportunities that fit into our long-term business model.
While enhancing our financial services offerings is important, it is secondary to maintaining the confidentiality of our customer’s information. We have heavily invested in cyber security and test its effectiveness frequently.
Just as importantly, we stress to our employees, from their first day of employment, the importance of confidentiality in all their interactions outside the bank, so that what they see and hear at Legends Bank stays at Legends Bank.
Finally, please know that Legends Bank remains one of the safest banks in the country. We recently received notice from Bauer Financial that the bank has maintained its 5 Star Rating (Superior). We retain much more capital than required by state and federal regulations, with the goal of being fully capable of assisting our customers, regardless of the state of the economy.
If you are a current Legends Bank customer, our continued thanks for your loyalty. If you are not yet, I invite you to contact us to explore what a locally owned, locally managed, locally invested bank can do for you.
From all of us at Legends Bank, please stay safe and stay healthy.
Established in 1913, for over 100 years, Legends Bank continues to look for better ways to serve its expanding list of customers. Find us at the corner of Hwy 63 and 72. Your town, your bank.
