“Community banks and credit unions are critical to maintaining competition and equity in the U.S. financial system. But their role can go overlooked in an industry that is constantly evolving and focused on bigger, faster and shinier.

We commissioned the Banking Impact Report to explore how banking trends are impacting local communities and the perceived role of community banks and credit unions in the U.S. banking system. ”

— Nathaniel Harley, Co-Founder and CEO of MANTL

About the Banking Impact Report:

The Banking Impact Report was conducted by Wakefield Research in August 2021 and commissioned by MANTL to identify how evolving banking trends impact the local community and the role that community banks and credit unions play in the U.S. financial system. The report surveyed three key audiences: 1,000+ consumers, aged 18+ with a bank account; 500 U.S. small business owners who have a bank account, defined as those with annual revenue of $25M or less; and 100 community banking executives and 50 credit union executives, defined as those VP and above, who manage between $500M and $50B in assets.

Key findings include:

• Nearly half of consumers (44%) expect banks to offer online account opening, but only 57% of community banks and credit unions have online account opening for consumers.
• 58% of consumers and 57% of businesses wouldn’t use a bank that didn’t let them open an account online.
• 92% of SBOs and 89% of consumers agree that community banks and credit unions are as or more vital to the U.S. banking system as large national banks.