During the past few years community banks in West Virginia have been losing their voice and influence. This has not happened by design; rather it has been a natural result of the evolution of merger and acquisition activities, which continue to change the complexion of banking in our state.
Community banks will always be the backbone of West Virginia's banking system and our citizenry would not want it any other way. It is inevitable that big banks will continue to get bigger, new consolidations will create new big banks while simultaneously eliminating more community banks. The philosophical and service gaps beween big banks and community banks will continue to widen.
With this in mind a group of concerned community bankers convened in Flatwoods, WV and organized a new trade associaton, the West Virginia Association of Community Bankers, Inc. in October of 1995, now doing business as Community Bankers of West Virginia, Inc. The organizers determined that the big bank motives were drastically different from ours in three primary areas: products and services, education and training and legislative reform.
The Board of Directors meets quarterly to evaluate the products and services and to discuss the state legislative issues and thier impact on community banking. CBWV holds an annual meeting and convention that provides the opportunity for education, networking at the social gatherings and opportunities to discover new products and services. CBWV also offers an CEO/Directors Conference education program specifically designed for the community bank directors. We also offer telephone/webcast seminars that cover a variety of topics to our membership and continue to explore other educational opportunities to better serve our members.
We currently have 47 member banks and 63 associate members. We look forward to future growth!
We believe it is imperative that independent community banks have a unified voice.
This association will be that voice!!
