A Better Banker

Happy New Year!

I'd like to start the year with a story that demonstrates how transformational a thoughtful, caring business can be. And it's not just a business, it's a bank.

Last fall, "Occupy Wall Street" occupied the minds of politicians and policy-makers around the globe. It so resonated with the Average Joe that it spread, like wildfire, across the country and to the capital cities in Europe.

I think "Occupy Wall Street" is a failure as a movement, because it does not clearly identify the problem(s) it opposes or the solution(s) it espouses. Nonetheless, it brings to light the harm that was done by greedy people, both bankers and borrowers, who recklessly collateralized America with subprime loans throughout the early part of the twenty-first century.

Juxtapose Countrywide, Deutche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch and the rest with this: New York's smallest bank, the Bank of Cattaraugus, located on Main Street in Cattaraugus, New York.

Recently, the New York Times highlighted the work of Patrick J. Cullen, the Bank of Cattaraugus' president, when he granted mortgage forbearance for a borrower, a bus mechanic, who temporarily lost his job. In his long tenure at the helm of the small-town institution, Mr. Cullen has helped others in need, too.

“They saved our lives,” the New York Times reported of Duane Kelley, a retired Setterstix worker. Mr. Kelley lost his house to a $15,000 tax lien. Mr. Cullen bought the house at a county land auction with the bank’s money. He then returned it to Mr. and Mrs. Kelley. The Kelleys are re-paying the bank through a 15-year loan.

You might think that's highly unusual behavior for a bank president. Yet there are other, similar stories about Cullen and his management of the Bank of Cattaraugus. The stories shared by the New York Times paint a portrait of a powerfully humble - or humbly powerful - Cullen family that cares about their community, their neighbors, their friends. Give it a read. Beautifully written by Alan Feuer, this story will leave you feeling wonderfully good about bankers, businessmen, community leaders.

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I can't wait to experience all that 2012 holds for me, because our world is filled with wonderful, beautiful people like Patrick J. Cullen. I wish you all the best as you discover the beauty in 2012, too.