When we hire people, we tell them they can't be afraid of change, because they don't know what their next job in the company will be. Bay Vanguard and First Federal were not shy about going into cyberspace and were able to maintain the status quo among their employees to some degree. Yes, says Grant Thornton. Yet some community banks say no. I was giving a speech about online banking to a group of community banks once, and there was a real skeptic in the audience.
Farmers happen to be among the most technologically savvy people.
The potential market for an online banking offering is always there, especially as the younger Internet generation grows up. Bay Vanguard's Mroz knows the answer to this question. Our online bank is helping draw in and keep younger customers. Our customer base is getting older, so we're going to have to replace it somehow. But Beard says age is not everything.