Special History:

Citizens has a unique notoriety as being one of the banks John Dillinger robbed in 1933. History has it that on August 14, 1933, John Dillinger and his gang came to Bluffton, stole $6,000 from The Citizens National Bank, and exited the bank, guns blazing (amazingly no one was injured) as they made their escape to the north. In October of that year, John Dillinger was brought back to Ohio and held in the Lima jail (12 miles south of Bluffton) to stand trial for the Bluffton bank robbery. On October 12, Dillinger's "gang" came into the jail claiming they were officers from Indiana and they were taking Dillinger back to stand trial there. When Sheriff Jesse Sarber asked for their credentials, they opened fire on Sarber, killing him and breaking Dillinger out of jail. Dillinger was one of the most publicized criminals of the 20th Century. On July 22, 1934, however, Dillinger was brought down by "The Lady in Red" when he was killed by federal agents and police as he left a Chicago movie house.

"The people of West Central Ohio have been very loyal to our bank through the years. As we have grown and added services, more individuals and businesses have also come to appreciate the advantages our personal attention provides. I continue to believe that we are on the leading edge of banking technology in our region, and that means better service and greater access for our customers."

-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, more than 80 years later, we have grown to $437 million in total assets and have expanded our offices to Lima, Elida, Van Wert, Celina, Findlay and our newest loan production office, Springfield. We currently employ about 145 people and serve customers in nine primary counties: Allen, Hancock, Putnam, Hardin, Auglaize, Mercer, Van Wert, Paulding and Clark.

Growth

Citizens continually looks for opportunities to expand our offerings to new communities. Our consistent growth is a result of exceptional customer service, convenient and innovative products, and competitive rates on loans and deposits. You can feel secure banking with us because our track record is solid, our financial performance is outstanding, and our growth is the envy of other community banks. You also have our commitment that we will continue to invest wisely in people and technologies so that we may continue to provide you with competitively priced beneficial services.