-J. Michael Romey, President/CEO
History
On January 31, 1920, the Citizens National Bank opened its doors for the first time in Bluffton, Ohio, and offered all new customers an apple in appreciation for stopping by. A review of the books from 1920 indicates that the bank began with $50,000 in capital and approximately four employees. Now, 91 years later, we have expanded our offices to Lima, Elida, Van Wert, Celina, Findlay, Springfield and now Defiance. We currently employ about 145 people and serve customers in ten primary counties: Allen, Hancock, Putnam, Hardin, Auglaize, Mercer, Van Wert, Paulding, Clark and Defiance.
Growth
Citizens continues to experience consistent growth. We've recently opened a new loan production office in Defiance, OH, enlarging our market area and continuing our focus on agricultural and commercial lending. In fact, we're now one of the top agricultural lenders in the state of Ohio. Our internet-only branch, cnbbankdirect.com, also offers a way for us to reach depositors across the country, through both savings and CD products. In the last 5 years our total assets have grown from $400 million to more than $565 million. This success is due to the confidence our customers have in our ability to provide them innovative products and solid performance.
We continue to focus on our website and social media, providing more content and frequent updates about our services through Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube. We've improved our bill payment product for both personal and business use over the past year, making it easier to pay all your bills from one website. We've also enhanced communication with our customers through quarterly email newsletters, a web video series and the ability to set up email account reminders through CNB Messenger.
Ratings
Citizens National Bank is consistently rated high for performance and stability. We are currently rated a 4 Star Bank by Bauer Financial and a 3 Star Bank by Bankrate.com.