🎉 🎉🎉 North Carolina's own Southern Bank rated best bank in the United States - now that's impressive! [link]
Forbes [2/5/2025]: "With lower expenses on staff and technology, regional banks often operate more efficiently than nationwide giants, and Forbes’
16th annual list of America’s Best Banks is full of them. Led by Mount
Olive, North Carolina’s Southern Bank at number one, none of the banks
in the top 10 have more than $25 billion in assets, and JPMorgan Chase
is the only trillion-dollar institution on the list at all." Also making the Top 100 list were First Bank out of Southern Pines and First Citizens Bank, which is now one of the largest banks in the U.S.
✅ Dan Schline, CEO of the Carolina Credit Union League (CCUL) lobbying group is, once again, putting forth to our Legislature (H187) that North Caolinians in rural and "Tier 1" counties (financially challenged) are struggling to find access to financial services. Kinda hard to believe that as usual.
This round CCUL is asking the Legislature to give credit unions open membership to serve these folks dying of thirst in North Carolina's financial deserts. Thought it might be wise to verify the authenticity of that claim.
😎 Also thought it might be fair to check only for the presence, in those "Tier 1" counties, of those three North Carolina banks - Southern, First Bank and First Citizens - designated among "America's 100 Best Banks". Avoid any question of the high quality of access, also, in these N.C. financial deserts.
✅ Here are the 40 "Tier 1/financial desert" counties in N.C.:
ALEXANDER, ANSON, BEAUFORT, BERTIE, BLADEN, CALDWELL, CASWELL, CLEVELAND, COLUMBUS, CUMBERLAND, EDGECOMBE, GRAHAM, GREENE, HALIFAX, HERTFORD, HOKE, HYDE, LENOIR, MARTIN, MCDOWELL, MITCHELL, MONTGOMERY, NASH, NORTHAMPTON, PITT, RANDOLPH, RICHMOND, ROBESON, ROCKINGHAM, RUTHERFORD, SAMPSON, SCOTLAND, SURRY, TYRRELL VANCE, WARREN, WASHINGTON, WAYNE, WILKES, WILSON.
😎 Southern, First Bank, and First Citizens have at least one branch in 35 of the 40 "Tier 1/financial deserts - access and the "best in America" quality.
Of the 5 remaining counties:
❋ Caswell is served by American National and Fidelity banks.
❋ Hoke is served by Truist, Lumbee, PNC, and Fidelity banks.
❋ Hyde is served by Yadkin, and Vantagesouth banks.
❋ Mitchell is served by Bank of America, Wells Fargo, PNC, TD, Woodforest, and United Community banks.
❋ Tyrrell is served by Truist, Vantagesouth and Yadkin banks.
... need more banks or greater truth?
