Blog

By Matt Clark, President Federated Bank It’s always encouraging to be greeted by a smiling face at your local community bank. What’s even better is to know that behind the warm greetings and smiling faces is a bank that’s financially healthy. But how can the average consumer really know about the financial health of any

By Joan Honeycutt, Vice President Onarga Facility June has traditionally been and continues to be the most popular month for weddings in America. If you are in the midst of planning for one, you know just how many things there are to take care of. Book the venue – Check. Buy the dress – Check.

By Domi Garcia, Assistant Loan Officer Onarga Office What is it about spring that makes us want to get to work on our houses and yards? Maybe it’s the inspiration of nature with the fresh appearance of buds, flowers, new leaves, and green grass. Or maybe it’s the increased warmth and sunlight that give us

By Mary Lukow, Assistant Manager, Chebanse Facility 2014 is over – gone forever – in the past. In fact, it’s so far in the past that you’ve probably already stopped accidentally writing it on the date line of your forms and checks! However, even though the calendar says that 2014 is history, you can still

By Cindy Cabbage, Assistant Vice President Loda Facility Did you vow that this year you were going to start putting some money away for a rainy day? It’s a great idea because you can never predict when the unpredictable will happen to you. Now finding that extra money to put away – that’s the tricky

by Andrea K Eldert, Senior Mortgage Underwriter Brrrrr…winter is back, bringing with it bitter cold temperatures as well as sky-high heating bills. There’s not much you can do to control the weather, but there are steps you can take to reduce your heating costs. Keep equipment clean and functioning efficiently. Your furnace or heat pump has

By Craig Gocken, Vice President Onarga Facility How a Budget Can Help You. A new year has just begun, which motivates some people to take a fresh look at their finances. Maybe you have financial goals you would like to achieve or are adjusting to a change in expenses or income. Whatever your circumstances, financial

By Mary Lukow, Assistant Manager, Chebanse Facility  It’s that time of year again.  Time to rack your brain trying to guess just what would make a perfect gift for each of your loved ones…and then heading out to the mall to fight the crowds and the cold so you can bring it home to them.

By Domi Garcia, Assistant Loan Officer Onarga Office Buying a vehicle can drive you crazy – pardon the pun! But it doesn’t have to. There are things that you can do to make the process simpler, easier, and more likely to have a happy ending. Here are a few: Be smart about your financing. It

By Cindy Cabbage, Assistant Vice President Loda Facility In recent months, data breaches have been the subject of many headlines.  Large retailers like Target, The Home Depot, Neiman Marcus, Michael’s, and most recently Kmart have been targeted, making vulnerable thousands of pieces of valuable customer information. Given these recent compromises, it would be normal to ask,