Why you should be banking with HomeBank Texas

A community bank doing all kinds of quality lending in Dallas

Another great Better Banking Option we discovered while doing research in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, HomeBank Texas is a small institution that started out in a small community, but recently moved into an urban area, bringing their hometown approach to banking in a big city. Like Stockman’s bank which we talked about last week, they’re still a community bank, which has simply expanded the communities which it serves without turning its back on its hometown customers.

Community banking is defined by the FDIC as, essentially, any bank that has an intimate knowledge of their customer base and adequately provides for their financial needs. Traditional and larger banks typically have standardized banking products and procedures, but community banks should work more individually with their customers to develop and provide banking products which provide for community needs.

The FDIC qualifies 93% of banks as community banks, but the 7% of institutions that don’t make the cut actually hold the majority of banking assets, as they include mega-banks, which most people believe are the cheapest and most convenient banking options. Of this 93% that are community banks, some are much better than others, but there are a number of things you can look for when looking for a true community bank. Community banks should attempt to address social problems, practice transparency, and develop long-lasting relationships with their customers. These practices should be at the core of their mission, rather than being a secondary part of their business.

We would encourage HomeBank Texas to put more information about their history and mission on their website, as the only evidence we have to see that they’re truly a community bank is their lending portfolio. HomeBank Texas was formerly known as Seagoville State Bank, named after their hometown of Seagoville, TX. They now have one branch in each Seagoville, Dallas, and Rockwall, and the bank is still family owned.

We are able to see a lot about their portfolio from other sources like NCIF and BankLocal. They do a significant amount of all kinds of quality lending, devoting 40% of their lending to housing, 22.5% of their assets to small business and about 2% of their assets to small farming. This makes them a lender which contributes to all impactful areas of lending, so if you’re looking for a well-rounded bank making community development loans in the Dallas area, check out their website to get started today.