Community banking option

Banking with small-town, personalized customer care and exceptional products and convenient services that are offered at bigger banks is the stated philosophy behind First State Bank, and one that the bank is bringing with its first location to Oakland County in 2019. First State Bank will open at 1575 S. Rochester Road in Rochester Hills next spring. Bank spokeswoman Amy Persyn said the bank’s philosophy and the strong sense of community in Rochester Hills made for a great fit. “When looking at areas that were viable for expanding our branch network, the Rochester area stood out based on the vast array of opportunity to serve the needs of the local neighborhoods, from a community bank perspective,” she said. “Culturally, as an organization, it appears that there is value that our team can add to this region by actively getting involved in local initiatives and using our ground-level involvement to enrich the community.” Rooted in Macomb County with 11 current branches there, the future Rochester location mark the bank’s first expansion outside of Macomb County and into Oakland County.

Business Matters for the Rochester area are reported by Kevin Elliott. Send items for consideration to KevinElliott@downtownpublications.com. Items should be received three weeks prior to publication.