A Financial Institution’s History of Customer and Community Care Persists Over 150 Years

In a Nutshell: If a business has been around for more than 100 years, you know it’s doing something right. Wayne Bank has served customers since 1871, and it does many things to help them succeed. The bank’s volunteerism and financial education offerings combine to strengthen the fabric of local communities and create a brighter tomorrow for children.

The idea of time travel has long captured the imagination of people who want to correct the mistakes they’ve made in the past, witness a historical event, or just experience a different era. It’d be interesting to travel back to the 1800s and take in life in the U.S. before the trappings of the 21st century got their hooks into us.

If you traveled back in time 150 years, you’d find yourself in a setting devoid of Teslas, TikTok, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Simply put, everything would be different, including main streets and other centers of commerce. Well, maybe not everything.

For starters, if you traveled back to the 1870s and found yourself in the charming town of Honesdale, Pennsylvania, nestled in the state’s northeast corner, you may notice a familiar name — Wayne Bank. The bank was founded in Honesdale in 1871, where it’s headquartered today. 

Though its products and services have changed to meet evolving customer needs, the bank’s unwavering support of its communities has remained steadfast since its founding. We spoke with three of Wayne Bank’’s leaders to learn more about its history and current endeavors.

“Wayne Bank is very active in the communities it serves,” Jim Donnelly, the bank’s President and CEO, told us. “And we’ve been at it for so long that COVID wasn’t even our first pandemic. We’ve been there to hold hands with members of our community through the Great Depression, the Spanish Flu, and all of the ups, downs, and different economic times we’ve gone through.”

Of course, Wayne Bank hasn’t thrived this long by keeping its eyes fixed on the rearview mirror. Donnelly told us the bank’s future is promising as its financials and proximity to key markets position it to build upon its past successes.

Wayne Bank has enjoyed organic growth over the years, but it has also recently expanded its operations into new markets.

“If you look back at the way we’ve been able to grow, it’s really been about maintaining our core set of values,” Steven Daniels, Senior Vice President and Director of Consumer Banking, told us. “Our expansion has accelerated more recently, taking us into upstate New York and the Finger Lakes region through a series of acquisitions.”

History buffs who want to experience life the way it once was needn’t fret over the fact that time machines don’t exist. They can still study artifacts and relics from the past that give them a sense of the way people used to live. Preserving history isn’t something that’s lost on Wayne Bank.

“We actually operate out of the same building in Honesdale that we were in in 1924,” Kristen E. Lancia, Certified Financial Marketing Professional and Vice President and Marketing Manager at Wayne Bank, told us. “We have the same original vault, too. It’s really cool and historic looking, and everyone who goes in it is like, ‘Wow — look at this vault!’”

If you’re a fan of the TV show, “The Office,” it’s likely you’re familiar with Scranton, Pennsylvania, which served as the setting for the popular sitcom. Daniels told us Scranton is also the largest urban area in Wayne Bank’s original footprint.

The bank moved into the Scranton market via acquisition in 2011. In 2020, Wayne Bank’s expansion into the Finger Lakes region allowed it to reach new customer bases with an appetite for different types of lending, including agricultural loans.  Daniels told us the bank learns about the areas it expands into and how its lines of businesses can serve a new community.

A prioritization of digital tools and mobile banking solutions has led some banks to deemphasize opening new brick-and-mortar branches. Donnelly told us that some of the bank’s customers only need to interact with the bank’s mobile app to satisfy their banking requirements. But other customers seek more assistance.

“What we’ve found is that people used to walk into our facilities, stand in line, do a transaction with one of our tellers, and then leave,” Donnelly told us. “Now, we’re finding that a lot more people are coming into our offices to get advice about something going on in their financial lives. So we’re upskilling our staff so that they’re equipped to have those conversations that are more meaningful.” 

Donnelly was a teller earlier in his career, and he shared with us that tellers were once coached to complete transactions with customers in three minutes or less. But Wayne Bank realizes that longer discussions between customers and bank employees can lead to more fulfilling opportunities. Plus, deeper conversations open the door for the bank to learn about ways it can reinvest in its communities.

Wayne Bank has many reasons to celebrate as it pushes toward its 160th year of serving businesses and consumers. The bank operates 29 branches, but its 30th branch is under construction. The bank also employs nearly 300 people to help it satisfy customers.

Like many banks, Wayne Bank takes pride in supporting community activities. The bank relies on its network of branches to highlight causes and community projects for the bank to get behind. Lancia told us Wayne bank recently participated in an effort to gather supplies for local schools that a branch staff spearheaded.

“It was just something they felt they saw as a need in their local area,” Lancia told us. “I think that just really echoes the mindset of so many of our employees who want to make a difference by taking positive steps. And one of the employees who came up with the idea for the school-supply drive sent a lovely thank-you email after it was over, and she ended it with a message — be the change you want to see in the world.”

Wayne Bank partners with the United Way to aid the organization’s mission of improving lives and strengthening communities. Lancia told us the bank’s employees are eager to lend a hand to help with painting and gardening projects that help beautify local neighborhoods. Daniels added that many of the bank’s employees in Honesdale have helped maintain the local YMCA, which provides activities for youth, including after-school initiatives.

Some banks only allow their employees to complete a few hours of community service each year while on the clock. Donnelly told us Wayne Bank doesn’t restrict its employees in that way, preferring to grant them flexibility so they can sufficiently support community needs.  

“I can’t think of an instance when somebody wanted to donate their time to a community event where we told them they couldn’t,” Donnelly told us. “We really do encourage our employees to work on their education and better their understanding of banking and how we can improve the service we offer to customers. And one way we serve our communities is by reaching out and being active.”

From safe deposit boxes to credit and debit cards, Wayne Bank boasts a rich offering of products that can help customers manage their finances. But something the bank provides that won’t show up on its product menu is its robust work in the financial education space.

The bank works with local school districts to teach students about financial topics. But Wayne Bank doesn’t just educate youth about how to use banking products, it runs through real-life scenarios so students will feel comfortable when they have to make choices about managing their money.

“Financial education is something that we always keep at the front of our minds,” Daniels told us. “We teach students about budgeting and how to start a business because those are things that schools don’t necessarily have a formal curriculum for. Banking is a line of work where you can get too focused on just one thing a lot of times, but when you’re able to help other people, especially younger people who can use that knowledge later in life, it’s certainly rewarding.”

Wayne Bank partners with the American Banking Association (ABA) to participate in nationwide educational opportunities. The ABA’s Teach Children to Save program allows bank employees to go into schools and teach students about basic money principles such as the difference between saving money and spending it. 

The ABA holds an annual contest called “Lights, Camera, Save” that invites teenagers to create a video about a financial subject. The ABA then judges all of the videos teens submit and recognizes those that put together the best entries. One of the high school groups Wayne Bank delivers financial education to placed fifth in the contest. 

“We had about 30 submissions from across all our markets,” Lancia told us. “We had the great pleasure of watching them all and there were some really funny, well-done videos. The students did such a great job, and we’re so proud of them.”