So far, all of his changes have stayed, along with the bank's ambience. They certainly don't march to the beat of everybody else's drum, but they've stood their ground especially compared to their peer group of other small, independent banks nationwide. Signs of the bank's uncommon stability, including touches from its 1921 beginnings, are easy to spot. Tellers don't stand behind bullet-proof glass, for example, but conduct business at windows secured only by the bank's original brass bars. There's no ATM cash machine at Merchants and no telephone voice mail.
Merchants continues to issue pass books for customer savings accounts.
And it boasts of never foreclosing on a commercial or residential loan. The lobby is still decorated with chandeliers and fine draperies, and the founders' oak desks, where Bolton works five days a week, are stationed close to the front door, just as they were 78 years ago. Let us hear from you.