Banking Insights
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A message from President and CEO John J. Blake III

Have you ever found yourself asking this question: "This seems unnecessary and ridiculous. Why is the bank requiring me to ____________________?"

Of all industries, the banking industry is one of the most regulated. The primary reason banks are so regulated is because we have the responsibility of safeguarding the assets of the communities we serve—your deposits. The funds we use to grant loans with are not owned by the bank nor its directors, its shareholder’s, or its employees. We loan your deposits and since your deposits are insured by the FDIC, we are very much regulated.

At times, it can present a real challenge—balancing excellent customer service on the one hand, while complying with regulations on the other. Compliance with these various regulations place certain burdens on the bank and in certain instances, place burdens on you, our valued customer. As President of the bank, I do understand this dilemma and our board and staff are always seeking new ways to make banking with us as convenient as possible. Not to bore you to death with detail, however, here are a few of the federal regulations we must manage each day:

• Regulation B
• Regulation C
• Regulation D
• Regulation E
• Regulation J
• Regulation O
• Regulation P
• Regulation Q
• Regulation S
• Regulation V
• Regulation W

• Regulation X
• National Flood Insurance Act
• Regulation Z
• Regulation AA
• Regulation BB
• Regulation CC
• Regulation DD
• Regulation GG
• Bank Secrecy Act
• Various State Laws

Each and every time the banking industry under goes a cycle of bank failures, Congress always re-regulates banking. I have been through one cycle of bank failures during my career in the late 1980’s and we are currently going through another cycle of failures. I am proud to say Peoples State Bank continues to operate in a safe and sound manner and has since 1913. All that said, I love banking and I am very proud to be the third generation President of my family.

So when you find yourself asking the question I posed above, pick any alphabet, it may just be because of a regulation!

John J. Blake, III
President/CEO