Sevier County Bank celebrates 100 years

By Jayne Andrews

While the economiy has stifled many banks and other financial institutions in the past year, Sevier County Bank is expanding its number of branches in 2009. Earlier this year, the bank opened a new branch in Seymour, Tenn., while celebrating 100 years of service to Sevier County. Then, on Oct. 19, Sevier County Bank held an open house at its newest branch, located in Gatlinburg, Tenn. This is the bank’s first branch in Gatlinburg, and its seventh in Sevier County.

“We’ve got great customers, and that’s been the key to our success,” said R.B. Summitt II, president of Sevier County Bank. “They are the reason we have been able to thrive over the years. We have a wonderful staff, and many have worked here the majority of their lives. They know banking and how to best help our customers.”

Summit recalled that over the course of the bank’s history, the economy has sometimes been a challenge as it is now. Yet, he said, their customers have turned to the bank many times for loans and advice on their finances in order to weather the tough times as well as the good ones.

Sevier County Bank is quite active in the local community and often supports area nonprofits with fundraisers and other events. For example, the bank recently held a silent auction and was able present a check for $2,000 the Friends of the Smokies from the proceeds of the auction.

During the month of August, every branch offered free ice cream to customers on Wednesdays. The bank was also a sponsor for the Teacher of the Year awards banquet this year.

Sometimes the bank offers educational seminars designed to help customers make important financial decisions. A recent offering was bringing in a reverse mortgage specialist on two dates to help bank customers learn more about this often-confusing topic.

“We are always looking for new and different ways to help our customers, especially during these difficult times,” said Summitt. “Reverse Mortgages are a valid option and can really help our senior citizen customers who may want to use their home’s equity to improve or maintain their overall lifestyle.”

Summitt emphasized that Sevier County Bank believes it is very important to listen to their customers and help them meet their needs. The bank offers a wide range of products and services like most banks, yet prides itself on how well bank employees get to know individual customers and their specific needs.

“Banks have to be careful because they need to earn and keep the trust of their customers,” Summitt said. “The trust and reputation factor is very important to us at Sevier County Bank. It’s not just what you say, but how you do it.”

Summitt explained that his bank puts of lot of time into thinking through the services they offer customers and how they go about delivering those services. Even the locations of ATM machines are carefully planned to ensure the maximum amount of safety for customers using them.

“Women, especially, with small children in the car, need to have the ATMs located in where they are easily accessible and in a safe location,” he said. “We have found that if we do the right things for our customers, they feel we are not just a bank but a partner or a CFO for them. We don’t approve every loan because we know it’s not always the best thing for the customer.”

Summitt said he thinks one of the things that caused such great problems in the banking industry over the past couple of years was bankers who were too eager to grant loans to people who were not able to make the payments without hurting themselves financially.”

“Bankers need to use common sense when looking at loan applications,” he said. “We all want to help customers, but there needs to be a careful consideration of the ability to repay their loans.”

One of Summitt’s favorite quotes is from Will Rogers who said, “When you find yourself in a hole, quit digging.” To Summitt, more people should have followed that advice when they started borrowing money for projects that did not have the potential to be profitable. He said it troubles him and other staff members at Sevier County Bank to see the number of people across the country who borrowed money during the housing boom that now cannot afford the payments and are losing their homes.

Summitt is optimistic, however, that the East Tennessee area will recover well from the downturn in the economy, and that his bank will continue to grow and prosper.

“We have employees from 12 different states, so while we are a small community bank, we are a very diverse bank,” he said. “Some of our customers come from families that have been doing business with us for generations. We intend to maintain the kind of trust they have placed in us as their bank.”

Sevier County Bank is the oldest business in Sevier County. The bank built a new 60,000-square-foot headquarters in 2006, and has been seeing a steady growth in deposits despite the downturns in the national economy. The bank encourages its customers to be vigilant regarding their financial health. To that end, Sevier County Bank provides its customers well-trained, experienced staff that are dedicated to serving the financial needs of all bank customers.