Citizens Deposit Bank brings a hometown approach the Huntington
By James E. Casto
HQ 104 | WINTER 2019
Vicki Taylor has deep roots in Huntington and years of experience in the banking business. Today, she says she’s excited to be working for a “local” bank again as the commercial lender and business development officer at Huntington’s newest bank, Citizens Deposit Bank.
During her career, Taylor has held key business development and relationship management positions with the Huntington offices of Fifth Third Bank, Huntington Bank and WesBanco. In 2015, she opened the Huntington office of Movement Mortgage, its first in West Virginia.
Citizens Deposit’s local decision making and its hometown approach to community banking is what attracted her to her new job, said Taylor, a Huntington native and Marshall University graduate.
“Huntington is our own unique community,” she said. “Thus, to be involved in a regional bank where all the decisions are made outside of Huntington just doesn’t work so well. In contrast, all our decisions are being made right here in Huntington.”
“Joining Citizens Deposit was a great opportunity to part of a team of local people, a team that’s passionate about customer service and really cares about the community.”
Taylor’s own record of community service includes her long-time involvement with the Big Green Scholarship Foundation at Marshall and with United Way of the River Cities. Currently she’s helping with fundraising for Recovery Point and its network of substance abuse treatment centers.
Citizens Deposit is a $424 million, Kentucky-chartered bank with more than a dozen locations in Kentucky and Ohio. Its new Huntington office is its first in West Virginia. Citizens Deposit is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Premier Financial Bancorp, Inc., a $1.5 billion, Huntington-based bank holding company.
“We had been looking for an opportunity to enter the Huntington market when we learned that the West Virginia Federal Credit Union was getting ready to exit the market,” said Leland Steele, marketing manager with Premier Financial. “They had been here about 12 years but had never been able to develop the kind of business they had hoped for.”
“Their building at 2600 5th Ave. was ready to move into, so it represented a perfect opportunity for us,” said Steele. “The fact that Citizens Deposit already had established offices in Ironton and over in Proctorville was another plus for us. So we cut the ribbon here at a dedication ceremony last August.
“We feel fortunate to have recruited experienced local people like Vicki Taylor and Sue Lawless, our branch manager/loan officer.”
An Ironton native, Lawless began her banking career with First Bank Ceredo (now part of United Bank). She worked as a branch manager/loan officer with Bank One (now JPMorgan Chase) and most recently with the C&O Railway Employee Federal Credit Union in Huntington.
“Any time we evaluate opening a new location we look for opportunity,” said Citizens Deposit President and CEO Mike Minner. “We believe that Huntington represents a great opportunity for us to work with customers and businesses that appreciate our approach to quality, personal service, technology, local decision making and focus on the communities we serve.”
In welcoming Huntington’s newest bank, Mayor Steve Williams said: “We are always thrilled with investments in our community, but there is something very special when it’s local investment. Huntington is continuing to transform, and we are so pleased Citizens Deposit Bank is part of the growth occurring in our community.”
Citizens Deposit Bank traces its roots back to the late 1880s, when two banks, the Citizens Bank and the Deposit Bank served the community of Vanceburg, Kentucky. The two banks merged into one around 1889.
The bank’s Vanceburg building, a local landmark for more than 100 years, has a rich history. During the 1937 Ohio River flood, the floodwaters reached the second floor of the building and the second floor was used as the city’s flood relief headquarters. Today the vintage building continues to house the headquarters of Citizens Deposit Bank.
