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strategy. Bank leaders understand the local, geo-
to-pay debit cards, another feature that appeals
graphic nuances to the market that larger banks
to younger consumers, he says.
headquartered out of state may miss. Closing a
And a long track record of taking care of cus-
branch because there’s another a few miles away
tomers has paid off. Almost a quarter of its new
could put an extra hurdle in a customer’s journey
customers in 2022 were under the age of 24,
to that other branch.
according to the bank, and 41% of all new cus-
“One thing I’ve learned in my banking career, at
tomers were under the age of 34. Quinlan says
least in our markets, is if you close down a branch
most of those young customers come to the bank
on one side of the river, [customers] won’t cross
because their parents refer them.
the river to do business on the other side,” Quinlan
“They come in and open their accounts, often in
says. “Geographical barriers are a reality in our
high school, and then they’re able to carry that on
markets, and I think the big banks miss that.”
through college,” Quinlan says. “And then hope-
Successfully banking older and younger generations of consumers means investing in both the
fully they become a long-term customer.”
Staying loyal to customers in its slow growth,
branch network and digital banking channels.
“The big banks can’t do great relationships,
and the small banks can’t do great technology. So
banks like us — those in the middle, and there just
aren’t a lot of us — have the best opportunity to
be high performing retail banks,” Hageboeck says.
City has 99 branches and serves around
200,000 households, for an average of about
2,000 households per branch, making it more efficient than competitors, he adds.
“We have a great franchise. We don’t see the
need to grow into a bigger bank, unless it is
a better bank.”
“We don’t spend a ton of time and energy cutting expenses here,” Hageboeck says. “Revenues
Charles “Skip” Hageboeck / City Holding Co.
are high because we have a lot of branch-related
fee income.” City’s branch network brings in deposits. More accounts results in more fee income,
he explains. Debit card revenue makes up more
than a third of noninterest income for the bank,
Appalachian markets has worked to City’s ben-
totaling $27.3 million in 2022.
efit. When other banks have exited the region or
In addition to its branch network, City has in-
merged out of existence, City has hung on, doubling
vested in its mobile banking app to help win over
down on marketing efforts so it stays at the fore-
younger consumers. That means making sure the
front of potential customers’ minds. Quinlan says
app is available to customers around the clock,
the bank has achieved a lot of brand recognition by
with minimal downtime for maintenance, and of-
being engaged in the community, sponsoring local
fering dark mode, a user interface display setting
school events and youth sports teams. Branch staff
often preferred by Gen Z, according to Quinlan.
regularly report that new customers end up bank-
“The app [has] those little fundamental features
ing with City because they’ve decided to go with a
that matter,” he says.
bank that supports their hometown, he adds.
City adopted Zelle in 2020. It also issues tap-
“You never know when a customer’s going to