January 2017
110 Years and Growing:
How does an organization carry on for one hundred and
ten years? Would character, integrity, honesty and hard work come to mind?
Did you know that First City Bank’s charter is 110 years old and the future continues to be bright!
Building our business one Customer at a time met the
challenges of Business longevity!
See story on page 4.
Congratulations to our very own Chantale Gilbert-Murat, Assistant Vice President and Operations officer. Chantale received her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Finance from DeVry University December 12, 2016.
See story on page 3.
News from the Vault
Transmet Corporation
Transmet Corporation is a privately-owned Manufacturer of Rapidly Solidified Metals, located on the west side of Columbus. Transmet was formed by Battelle Memorial Institute in 1979 to license their patented technology of melt spinning. This is the production process used to produce Transmet’s high-purity Aluminum Flakes. Battelle Memorial Institute is best known for bringing the world Xerox copiers, compact discs and the coating for M&M's. On any given day, the more than 21,000 worldwide Battelle employees are working on 5,000 projects for 1,000 customers. Transmet has been a privately-owned small business since 1988 when former President and CEO of Battelle, Sherwood L. Fawcett, took ownership alongside others. Transmet still operates the high-purity Aluminum Flake production line and has since opened two other production lines based on another proprietary process. The majority of those that make up the small team at Transmet have been with the company for many years; their know-how in metallurgy is unmatched at a company this size.
Partnerships with The Ohio State University
Transmet partners with The Ohio State University College of Engineering and the Max M. Fisher College of Business each year to educate students and improve the company. The Engineering Lean Six Sigma program has brought many changes to the way Transmet handles raw materials inventory. Ohio State Engineering interns also implemented principles of “Lean Manufacturing” at Transmet to reduce waste and ensure maximum use of company money and time.
Transmet was a part of the College of Business Export Internship Program two years in a row to secure a distributor in Mexico and improve export compliance for international customers. Transmet has customers in Canada, Mexico, Spain, Netherlands, New Zealand, Argentina, and more.
Transmet Team Meetings
Every Wednesday morning at the Transmet offices, you will find the entire Transmet team together for weekly “Walk & Talk” meetings. These meetings are inspired by Dave Akers’ 2-Second Lean book. Employees are encouraged to make small, “2-Second Improvements” throughout the week, named for their ability to save as little as two seconds of company time. When compounded over time, this principle leads to large savings
and bigger ideas that save much more than just two seconds of time.
Transmet team members walk around the office and the plant, visiting everyone’s workstations to see firsthand the improvements that were made that week. The meetings are a fun, informal way to tap into each area of the company and appreciate what every team member contributes. Transmet assembles in the same way for bi-monthly “Huddle” meetings where all employees have an inside look at planning, forecasting, and aligning production and sales.
Connecting With Transmet
Columbus community members are welcome to visit Transmet Corporation each Wednesday morning at 8:30 am for the weekly Walk & Talk meeting. Whether you are interested in learning more about Transmet production processes or would like to learn how to implement a similar program at your small company, the Transmet Team welcomes all.
Transmet Corporation is a longtime customer of First City Bank. If you are interested in connecting with Transmet, you will find them at our 2017 cookouts or can visit their company website. Transmet updates their website and social media profiles weekly to supply company news, industry news, and customer application pictures and success stories.
Congratulations to our very own Chantale Gilbert-Murat, Assistant Vice President and Operations Officer.
Chantale has been an employee of First City Bank for over fifteen years now.
Pictured here with Vice President of Finance Randy Williams.
Pictured her with First City Bank Accountant Dave Whitacre.
Chantale started as a part time customer service representative. The value she brought to the organization became clear and she became a full time customer service representative. Chantale has continued to grow and take on additional responsibilities and roles within the organization and was promoted to Assistant Vice President and Operations Officer this past September.
First City Bank offers tuition reimbursement as an employee benefit, which Chantale took advantage of and has received her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Finance from
DeVry University December 12,
2016. We are so proud of her!
Pictured with her Father and Aunt.
The December 12, 2016 Graduation ceremony held at the Columbus Convention Center, included over seventy-five family and friends who are excited and proud of Chantale’s accomplishment. Join us in congratulating her!
Pictured here with her husband AND SON
110 Years and Growing: Now let us appreciate the past…..
The year 1907, known better as
the Panic of 1907. Throughout
1907 the American economy was
showing signs of weakness as
numerous business and Wall
Street brokerages went bankrupt.
Depositors made massive run on
the nation’s banks.
In Christiansburg, Ohio; First City
Bank was just starting. Receiving
its charter January 1st, 1907 as the
Farmers and Merchants Bank
Company located at the Old
Fellows Social Lodge NO. 139 in
Christiansburg, Ohio.
The bank incorporated with
capital of $25,000 and was started
and built on the slogan “The
Friendly Bank”. Throughout these
110 years, First City Bank has kept
with that type of messaging.
Though the slogans have changed
over the years from “The Friendly
– Family Bank” to today’s slogan
“Building Business One Customer
a Time”.
The philosophy of keeping
customers first has remained
intact!
The $25K initial capital is equal to
approximately $641K today. That
is a bargain, as it takes nearly 20
million dollars of capital to start a
bank today.
Old Fellows Social Lodge NO. 139
in Christiansburg, Ohio.
The Lodge housing the bank in
Christiansburg, Ohio was torn
down in February 2006 and the
lot was turned into a Veteran
memorial and community
gathering area.
In 1909 the bank moved down
the block to 2 East Pike street.
Federal Reserve Act that
established the Federal Reserve
System was passed by Congress in
1913 and signed into law by
President Woodrow Wilson. The
Reserve Banks opened for
business in 1914.
The purpose of the
Federal Reserve System, is to be
the central bank of the United
States. It was created by the
Congress to provide the nation
with a safer, more flexible, and
more stable monetary and
financial system.
The Fed’s goal is "to promote
sustainable growth, high levels of
employment, stability of prices to
help preserve the purchasing
power of the dollar and moderate
long-term interest rates”. It
accomplishes its goal with four
basic duties: conduct monetary
policy, supervise banks, maintain
stability of the financial system
and provide financial services to
the banking system.
The Fed’s impact behind the
scenes touches our lives in many
ways –from clearing checks that
we cash to processing electronic
transfers or payments we make
through our online bill pay
accounts or when we transfer
money from one account to
another. It also influences our
lives in less obvious ways too.
What the Fed does really matters
to individuals and their ability to
maintain employment and buy
goods and services.
1921-1929 – The “Roaring 20’s” –
The Federal Reserve floods the
economy with cash and credit
which increased the money
supply by $28 billion, almost a
62% increase over an eight-year
period. This artificially created
another “boom” in the economy.
In 1929, the Federal Reserve
began to pull money out of
circulation as loans were paid
back. This created a “bust” which
was inevitable after issuing so
much credit in the years before.
The Federal Reserve’s actions
triggered the banking crisis, which
led to the Great Depression.
October 24, 1929 – “Black
Thursday”, Stock Market Crash.
The most devastating stock
market crash in history.
1930- Great Depression Begins.
1929-1933- Federal Reserve
reduces money supply by 33%.
To strengthen the Fed’s authority
and independence, Congress
passed the Banking Acts of 1933
and 1935. With the passage of the
Glass-Steagall Act, a clear
distinction was drawn between
the types of services that
commercial banks and investment
banks could offer. Which
separated commercial banking
from investment banking and
established the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as a
temporary agency to guarantee
deposits.
Most people realize that the
funds in their checking
and savings accounts are insured
by the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation (FDIC), but few are
aware of its history, its function,
or why it was developed. Initiated
in 1933 after the stock market
crash of 1929, the FDIC continues
to evolve as it finds alternative
ways to insure deposit holders
against potential bank insolvency.
The FDIC has a very notable
history that demonstrates the
U.S. commitment to ensuring that
past bank troubles do not affect
citizens as they have done in the
past.
The Great Depression (1929-39)
was the deepest and longest-
lasting economic downturn in the
history of the Western
industrialized world. In the United
States, this began soon after the
stock market crash of October
1929, which sent Wall Street into
a panic and wiped out millions of
investors.
One would think that crimes
would rise during bad economic
times. Famous outlaws such as
Bonnie and Clyde a young couple,
with no jobs or prospects, drove
across the country robbing banks
and killing police officers to make
ends meet. John Dillinger, famous
for his likable personality and
charm would often flirt with
female bank tellers whom he was
robbing, and would also
sometimes leap over the counter,
a stunt he imitated from the
movies during the Great
Depression.
Interesting fact; in 1930 First
City Bank (known at the time as
Farmers and Merchant Bank)
completed the installation of
several panes of bullet-proof
plate glass and lined the
interior of the bank partitions
with the same kind of steel.
These where called bandit
resisting features, making it
almost impossible for
employee of the bank to be
shot or become victims of
bandits. They actually
demonstrated the reliability of
the bullet-proof glass by
shooting a high powered rifle
that failed to even crack the
glass. The son of the president
of the bank in the 1950’s told
me the tellers had a mounted
sawed off shot gun pointed at
the belly of bandits.
The Depression years had very
little crime. The period before
the depression, booming
economic prosperity, the
roaring '20s had very high
crime. The 1950s and '60s
were the same, the economy
was great, but crime rates rose
every single year.
In 1988 the name was
changed again to First City
Bank and in 1994 the
headquarters of First City
Bank moved to the current
location in Columbus Ohio.
The Christiansburg 2 East
Pike bank building was sold
to National bank and torn
down in 2006, replaced with
a new smaller structure.
1999 – The Financial Services
Modernization Act allows
banks to grow even larger.
Many economists and
politicians have recognized
that this legislation played a
key part in the subprime
mortgage crisis of 2007. It
repealed part of the Glass-
Steagall Act of 1933 and
allowed investment banks,
commercial banks, securities
firms, and insurance
companies to merge.
2000-2003 – The Federal
Reserve Extends “easy
credit”, lowers the Federal
Fund Rate from 6.5% to 1%
and sets up another financial
“boom”
2004-2006 – Federal Reserve
sets off new “bust” by
making loans and Adjustable
Rate Mortgages more
expensive, raising Fed Fund
Rates to 5.25%, which
contracts the market.
2007-2010 – Worst Financial
Crisis since the Great
Depression
The financial crisis impacted
people around the world –
millions lost their homes,
jobs, and retirement funds.
Many of the smaller banks
were absorbed by others,
which allowed the biggest
banks to further consolidate
wealth and eliminate
competition.
Throughout the last 110
years of up’s and down’s in
the banking world, First City
Bank has been there for its
Christiansburg, and now
Columbus, Ohio communities
and customers. Today, First
City Bank continues its
financial strength and is in
excellent position for a bright
future!
An organization is only
as good as the people
who work in it and the
customers they serve!
Congratulations on
110 successful years!
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