January 2025
Dear Friends,
This past October Community celebrated its 80th anniversary of serving area residents from Cicero and Belmont Avenues in Chicago. My grandfather, Peter Cleven, opened the bank, then known as Community Savings and Loan, as a mutually owned savings institution. His goals were to run the institution for the benefit of its mutual members in order to help them own homes and save for the future. This effort included his goal to ensure that savers’ deposits were secure. He therefore developed Community’s Golden Rule which states that, “The safety and protection of our members funds is always our most important consideration.”
Community still follows this Golden Rule and focuses on maintaining a safe and sound place to save. Maintaining strong capital well above regulatory requirements is one part of meeting that goal, and making prudent and secure investments is another. In addition, all deposits are insured by the FDIC according to its rules and regulations.
Community continues to make banking affordable. It offers many no fee services at its office, drive thru, and via electronic banking (telephone banking, surcharge-free ATM networks, online/mobile banking, TransferNow). Affordable funds transfers are also available through the bank’s Directo A México program.
The use of electronic banking technology by our customers has significantly reduced the bank’s lobby traffic. As a result, and in order to more efficiently use the bank’s resources, beginning on February 1, 2025 the bank will slightly change its hours of operation at the main bank and at the drive thru. See the new hours on page four of this newsletter.
Community’s primary investment activity continues to be making mortgage loans to help area residents buy or refinance homes. As a portfolio lender, the bank owns all the loans it makes. These loans are sound investments. It also services those loans which provides many benefits to borrowers. Many current borrowers’ loans were made when interest rates were very low. If you need to borrow but don’t want to refinance and lose that very low mortgage rate, check out a Community Home Equity Loan or Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC). They can provide you with the funds you need, subject to Community’s loan underwriting standards. For more information about these loans give our loan department a call or get in touch through our website.
Community has occupied its current building on the southwest corner of Cicero and Belmont for over 70 of its 80 years in business. During this time the bank has truly become a part of the fabric of the neighborhood. It hosts and participates in a number of local events that serve area residents. A few of those are noted in this newsletter. We will engage in similar events in 2025.
On behalf of the bank’s board of directors and staff, thank you for banking at Community. We appreciate your business. If you don’t already bank here, we invite you to stop in and give Community a try. We would like the opportunity to serve as Your Personal Neighborhood Bank.
Sincerely,
Dane H. Cleven, President and Chairman
Community Savings Bank, Chicago