Recently, the Town of Six Mile found itself without a community bank for the first time since 1919. In 2013, the regional bank that had occupied a downtown bank building made the decision to close, leaving Six Mile’s nearly 700 residents without a bank within a 10-mile radius. Town officials knew that many residents enjoyed the convenience of a local bank. Plus the town’s small businesses and merchants depended on it. Officials began work on recruiting a new financial institution to downtown.
Their first step was to secure and refurbish the 94-year-old bank building. Officials convinced the outgoing bank to deed the property to the town in exchange for a potential Community Reinvestment Act credit. Officials then worked with a regional bankers’ association to identify an institution to open a branch in Six Mile. The incoming bank could also receive Community Reinvestment Act credit for opening in an unbanked community and bear no capital expenditures to relocate.
Town officials called on the public to help convince a new bank to relocate downtown. At community meetings, residents provided testimony about what having a bank nearby meant to them. Once a bank agreed to locate in Six Mile, even more residents volunteered to help gut the building to reduce renovation costs.
Hundreds of residents turned out to celebrate the grand opening of Our Bank in downtown Six Mile. More than just a boon for the public, the town will receive payment for use of the building once the bank becomes profitable.
Contact James Atkinson at james_atkinson@sixmilesc.org or 864.979.6075.