2008 ICBA Community Bank Survey:
Serving Emerging Markets

The purpose of this survey is to learn more about the efforts of community banks to reach emerging markets such as recent immigrants, ethnic communities and other groups who may be outside of the financial mainstream. Specifically, the survey seeks to determine:

• The degree to which community banks are active in serving new markets
• What strategies they use to serve these groups
• What products and services they offer that are tailored to these groups
• Whether their outreach efforts have been successful

The survey was distributed electronically by e-mail to community bankers at ICBA-member institutions. Responses were solicited regardless of whether the bank was active in efforts to build customer relationships within emerging markets. However, the responses may show some degree of self selection skewed towards community banks with an affirmative interest in outreach to emerging market consumers.

The response window was open for a period of approximately three weeks from February 20, 2008 to March 14, 2008. The survey generated 340 responses over that period, representing a broad cross-section of community banks around the country.

For the purposes of analysis, the survey divides respondents into two groups – those banks who are actively engaged in efforts to build customer relationships with consumers from emerging demographics, hereafter referred to as "Outreach Banks" and those who do not, hereafter referred to as "Non-Outreach Banks".

The survey asked a number of questions to all respondents, a set of questions to Outreach Banks and a separate set of questions to Non-Outreach Banks. The responses to questions asked of all respondents are reported as a percentage of total respondents, discounting non-responses unless responses could be imputed. Responses to questions asked only of Outreach or Non-Outreach Banks are reported as a percentage of the relevant group, discounting any non-responses.

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