Bigger Isn’t Always Better
How local financial partners such as Penn Community Bank support business owners.
by Jennifer Updike

 Whether in life or in business, strong relationships are the key to success, says Sean M. Wild, CEO of Pennsylvania Oral Surgery & Dental Implant Centers.

So when his financial needs began expanding along with his rapidly growing business, Wild began building a relationship with a representative of a large corporate bank that he thought would have the resources he needed to support his company’s growth. But just as he started to get to know the person, the relationship fell through, and he had to start all over.
That is when he turned to Penn Community Bank and finally found the financial partner he had been searching for.
“You think bigger is better, but unfortunately, bigger is harder. There are too many layers between you and the people you’re relying on,” says Wild, who now has seven oral surgery locations throughout the greater Philadelphia area. “At Penn Community Bank, I found a bank that is big enough to have the products and services we need to grow but still lets me build personal relationships with people who can actually solve my problems. These people are my people.”
Meeting Business and Personal Financial Needs
Wild came to Penn Community Bank looking for a true business partner that would take the time to fully understand his practice and his industry in order to anticipate his financial needs, allowing him to focus on his business. He also wanted a strategic partner that shared his organization’s vision for business success: offering an intimate level of care with the highest standards of service no matter what the location.
With the assistance of commercial loans through Penn Community Bank, Wild was able to fund the purchase of CT equipment for all seven Pennsylvania Oral Surgery & Dental Implant Center locations. Soon after, Penn Community Bank began handling his business credit card processing, too. After managing the wide range of his business needs so smoothly, Wild and other company partners turned to Penn Community Bank for mortgage loans for their own private homes.
“There are a million buildings out there with bank signs on them, but there are not a lot of team members who will actually support you, get to know you, and understand what your needs are,” says Wild. “But Penn Community does. As we grow, our vision is to bring our services to all the counties surrounding Philadelphia, and we believe Penn Community Bank can take us there.”
Serving as a Resource for Generations
With such flexibility and a range of resources to meet both business and personal financial needs, Penn Community Bank has been the financial resource for generations of families and business owners in the suburban Philadelphia region. In fact, it is that trust and personal attention that has kept the Chew family banking at Penn Community Bank through four generations.
Bryan Chew’s grandfather first opened an account at the bank for his business in 1964, and Bryan’s father later also opened an account. When Bryan got married, he and his wife, Kelly, sought a mortgage loan from the bank their family trusts. Penn Community Bank’s emphasis on personal service was especially helpful, and the bank’s team members helped to make the sometimes-intimidating and time-consuming mortgage process easier. Today, Bryan and Kelly’s two children, Tyler and Sabryna, also have their own accounts at Penn Community Bank, and Bristol Branch Manager Patty Samuels serves as a resource whenever they have questions.
“It’s very nice to have a bank manager who looks after you,” Bryan says of Samuels. “She’ll call to make sure everything is okay, and any problems we might have, she really helps out.”
Bryan says that the level of service the family receives from Penn Community Bank has not wavered over the years, and the foundation of trust that his grandfather built with the bank still remains today, more than 50 years later.
“When you come into Penn Community Bank, they know who you are, they call you by your name, first and last, which you don’t really get from a lot of different banks,” says Bryan. “I really enjoy that atmosphere.”

Being a Mutual Makes the Difference
That personal approach to banking, lending, insurance and investments is at the heart of the way Penn Community Bank does business.

It was originally founded in 1885 as a mutual savings bank dedicated to encouraging savings and lending money at reasonable rates to working families so they could buy their own homes. Today, Penn Community Bank’s goal is to be the local bank of choice for area residents and business owners who prefer to do business with a financial institution that values people as much as it does profits. Because it is not a publicly traded company and does not need to make decisions with investors in mind, the bank’s primary focus is to meet customers’ financial and insurance needs while running a sustainable business that enables the company, its team members and the communities it serves to thrive.
Today, Penn Community Bank is the second-largest independent, mutual financial institution in Pennsylvania, offering services including commercial and business banking and lending, as well as personal and business insurance and wealth management. Holding more than $2 billion in assets, it provides customers across Bucks and Montgomery counties 24/7 service through online banking and its mobile banking app, and friendly, in-person service at 24 branch locations.
Despite its growth, Penn Community Bank’s founding values remain its guiding principles today.
“Penn Community Bank has grown and changed a lot over the years, but our core values remain the same. Our philosophy is to treat people the way we would like to be treated, whether they are buying a home or financing their growing business,” says President and CEO Jeane M. Vidoni. “We focus on anticipating our customers’ needs and solving their financial problems, building that relationship for the long term. We want to be your financial partner for life.”
 Visit PennCommunityBank.com for more information.
 
Photography by Jody Robinson