Strongsville Marks 15 Branches for Cortland Bank
HUDSON, Ohio — Cortland Bank opened its 15th location today at 14357 Pearl Road in Strongsville. It’s the bank’s third addition in the past four years as it works to extend its footprint westward in northeastern Ohio, said James Gasior, president and CEO.
“Cortland Bank is following an aggressive growth strategy, successfully expanding into new zip codes within Northeast Ohio,” Gasior said. “This type of controlled growth has allowed us to build our deposit base and continue growing our loan portfolio while realizing greater cost efficiencies in order to return greater value to our stockholders.”
The Strongsville location will be a full-service branch with a wide array of deposit and lending services. Strongsville Mayor Thomas Perciak, vice chairman of Cortland Bank’s board of director and former president and CEO of Strongsville Savings, has been recognized as the primary driving force in Cortland Bank’s decision to open a branch in Strongsville, according to a release by Cortland Bank.
“The Strongsville community has not had a community bank since 1999 when Strongsville Savings was acquired by Fifth Third Bank,” Perciak said. “Cortland Bank has a proven track record of strategic organic growth, successfully opening branches in vibrant communities that don’t have a community bank by offering highly competitive financial products and superior customer service.”
In January, the bank, which operates branches in Summit, Trumbull, Mahoning, Portage and Ashtabula counties, reported a record full-year net income of $8.83 million, or $2.04 per diluted share, double the earnings when compared to the $4.35 million, or 99 cents per diluted share reported for 2017. Gasior credits the bank’s local roots for the success, he said.
“We empower our branch personnel to make the necessary financial decisions because, as local people themselves, they know the community and our customers the best,” Gasior said. “Local decision-making means faster turnaround on loans and other major financial decisions. In addition, as a community bank, we are committed to investing in our surrounding neighborhoods and strengthening our local economies.”
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
