Celebrating expansion and community values

November 2016

Writer / Janelle Morrison

Bank president Michael Schrage announced plans at the ceremony for the fourth-generation, family-owned company to open more locations in the near future. The company currently owns 54 other branches spanning across 11 Indiana counties.

“We are planning an opening in downtown South Bend [and hope] to be part of the resurgence of that downtown community. We will also have an opening in Granger and in East Lafayette. We are hopeful that we will open our Noblesville and Fishers locations in the later part of the 2017 calendar year,” he said.

Centier tries to differentiate itself by its servant leadership in the community, Schrage said. “We differentiate ourselves by the personalities of our respective institutions. We attract people who value their communities and who want to have the personalized relationship that Centier provides.
“Our culture at Centier is one of servant leadership. We try to live it and model it every day. We’re here to serve every person in the community. It doesn’t matter if it’s a young child coming in with $.05 to deposit into their account or a customer with $5 million. We treat everyone the same,” Schrage said.

At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Schrage presented the local Boys and Girls Club of Zionsville with a $500 check to demonstrate their partnership with the community. BGCZ East Club’s Unit Director Glenn Sanford accepted Centier’s $500 donation. “It means a lot to have the support from an organization like Centier,” Sanford said. “Centier is very supportive of our community and can do a lot in the way of their charity support, so we’re very honored that they chose the Boys and Girls Club of Zionsville as their charity partner.”

Zionsville Town Council member Bryan Traylor, a Centier senior vice president, played an important part in bringing the bank to his hometown. Zionsville Branch Manager, Brad Duncan, expressed his excitement about the opening of the branch in his hometown. “This is such a great community-oriented bank,” Duncan said. “Centier brings that local feel back to banking. I’ve been with a bigger bank, and it’s nice to get that small-town feel and understand more of what our customers want.

In his remarks, Schrage said that the bank tries to hire locally and keep their employees for a long time. “We hold onto our people for a very long time. We hire people who live in the community. We want local people working at and representing our branches. Their connections and engagement in the community are important to Centier. We find the key people in the community who want to champion the Centier culture,” he explained.
He added, “We are a people-first bank. We strive to impress upon our customers that they mean the world to us, and we really want to do our best to serve them. The thing that we value the most is the opportunity to interact with our customers on their specific needs and how we can help. We want to create the environment where people feel that we are here to be a sounding board and provide the right solutions. My wife and I live in town and are happy to be able to put down some roots here and enjoy being a part of our Zionsville community.”

Susana Duarte de Suarez, president of the Zionsville Town Council, weighed in on the benefits of having an Indiana based, family-owned business in town. “Centier is obviously a family business, and that fact really fits well into the dynamic of our community as well as our values,” she emphasized. “We truly believe in our family values and in our local businesses. For the mayor, the town council, and the local chamber, it’s not just about bringing in businesses; it’s the kind of businesses and the diversity of businesses that is key to the health and success of our community.”

For information about Centier Bank’s products, services, and local hours of operation, visit www.centier.com.