Transcript:

I'm Jeff Hanson, Chief Banking Officer at Southwest Georgia Bank and I've talked to you a little bit this morning about the current lending environment.  I get a lot of questions about are banks lending.  Really when you think about lending and the lending environment you hear all sort of things in the news, read national press or whatever banks are not lending, but honestly what we've found at least locally is the lending environment is actually pretty active.  We've got a very low interest rate environment.  Not all banks are the same.  Obviously we've been through a pretty tough last three, four or five years, so it's very natural that lending standards have tightened somewhat to adjust to the economic conditions.  

However, there are a lot of very strong banks out there.  We've noticed that our lending in Southwest Georgia Bank has actually been quite active over the last year or two.  We've been making quite a few loans.  I know there are a number of other banks in our community that are also doing very well.  So I think really the thing to keep in mind is most economic activity is local.  We have a very strong local economy.  It's not like it was, but it is very strong and you need to find a good banker, one you trust, one that shares your philosophy.  We have a local philosophy here.  We're locally based, but there are lots of different types of banks and one that suits your needs.  Find a good person that you're comfortable talking with and I think you'll find that there is a bank out there that can fit your needs.

At Southwest Georgia Bank we'd love to help you.  If you can just give us a call at 244-4444.