Across the heartland, where factory whistles once set the pace, and Main Street cafés still pour the strongest coffee around, regional banks have long held the financial reins. In Toledo and nearby Great Lakes towns, hometown banks and credit unions have done more than tally deposits and under-write mortgages. They’ve fueled diner expansions, helped welders and machinists buy their first homes, and joined civic leaders to rebuild neighborhoods after decades of disinvestment. Every spring, they sponsor youth baseball leagues; each winter, they pick up the phone when a roof caves in after a February thaw. Banking here has never been abstract — it’s a neighborly craft, forged across kitchen tables and over cups of coffee.
