Banking diversity low in Milledgeville

     Students come to GCSU from all over the state, and they take their bank accounts with them. Some have discovered that their banks do not have branches in Milledgeville, and are forced to consider driving out of town or switching banks.
     Weighing the options can be a challenge. Some students go home often enough that banking is not an issue for them. And with the convenience of online banking offered by most banks, money can easily be transferred even when there is not a branch nearby.
     But switching banks can be a hassle. It requires some planning ahead and moving funds, and automatic payments can take time. BB&T (Branch Banking & Trust Compnay) offers a Switch Kit that bundles all the necessary forms into one packet.
     Donna Collins, vice president at BB&T, estimates that roughly 25 percent of their accounts are student accounts.
“We feel we have a lot to offer students,” Collins said.
     Local banks work hard to persuade students into banking with them. Some banks have offered monetary rewards for opening an account and perks such as forgiveness for a first overdraft.
     Why are the big banks not located in Milledgeville? There is no simple answer. Banks conduct market analysis studies to decide where a bank may go. They analyze population numbers, average income and growth rate  in choosing a profitable location.
     Starting a bank is also an expensive venture. It requires a start-up investment of $8 million to $10 million, just within one community.
     A college town seems like a logical place to put a bank, but from a profitable standpoint, student accounts are not the most desirable. They are high-risk accounts, with a higher likelihood of overdrafts and lower balances.
     Despite this, students prove to be loyal bankers; thus student accounts are an investment for the future.
     In Milledgeville, there are only a few banks available to serve members of the community and college students. Only one of these, BB&T, has locations outside Middle Georgia.
     But that may change soon. A local bank, First National Bank of the South, may be a Suntrust by next fall, according to Chat Daniel, president of First National Bank of the South.
     First National Bank’s holding company, Gainesville Bank & Trust Bancshares, signed an agreement with Suntrust that will eventually make them part of Suntrust, assuming its shareholders vote for the motion.
     “I am 90 percent sure this will happen,” said Daniel.
This will mean another banking option for students. Suntrust has a wide range of locations across the state, especially in the metro Atlanta area, making it more likely for there to be a location close to home, as well as in Milledgeville.
     However, Daniel doubts that student accounts will increase at his bank unless Suntrust wants to push for student accounts. Without a location downtown, students will have to travel down Columbia Street to reach them, making banking there less convenient.
     “The number one reason people bank where they do is because of convenience,” Daniel said.
     Despite the obstacles of banking from afar, many students keep their accounts at home. Students often bank wherever their parents do, even if it is at home.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Nov 16 2007. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry