Bank of Bird-in-Hand expands mobile services

The Bank of Bird-in-Hand has expanded into Berks County for the first time with the latest addition to its specialized delivery network of GELT (money) Bus branches, opened March 8 at Reifsnyder’s Ag Center, 7180 Bernville Road, Bernville. 

The bank’s service network is already present in Lancaster, Chester, Lebanon and upper Dauphin counties, operating several bricks-and-mortar branches and four mobile branches serving 17 total locations. 

Bank of Bird-in-Hand is a community-owned bank with a strong focus on agricultural, small business and consumer lending, a release said. 

“We are excited to expand our services to a new area in need of a true community bank,” Lori A. Maley, president, CEO and vice chairman, explained. “With many banks closing branches across the state, the Federal Reserve Bank in Philadelphia recently expressed concerns about the growing number of ‘bank deserts,’ which are census track areas without financial institutions. The Bank of Bird-in-Hand is happy to be a community bank oasis in a rural banking desert.” 

Unlike “other banks in the news,” she added, the Bank of Bird-in-Hand doesn’t have investment securities affected by changes in the interest rate environment. “The bank sticks to traditional ‘bread-and-butter’ banking by accepting deposits from members of the local community and loaning that money to customers to grow businesses and purchase homes. This conservative business strategy has allowed the bank to grow its service network while remaining well-capitalized.” 

As of Dec. 31, 2022, the Bank of Bird-in-Hand had total assets of approximately $1.132 billion, total deposits of approximately $894 million, total net loans of approximately $975 million, and total shareholders’ equity of approximately $115 million. 

Paula Wolf is a freelance writer