Product Description
Deposit Accounts, Loans, Online Service, Online Banking
History
On January 31, 1920, the Citizens National Bank opened its doors for the first time in Bluffton, Ohio, and offered all new customers an apple in appreciation for stopping by. A review of the books from 1920 indicates that the bank began with $50,000 in capital and approximately four employees.
We have expanded our offices to Celina, Defiance, Elida, Findlay, Lima, Springfield, Toledo and Van Wert. We currently employ about 160 people and serve customers in eleven primary counties: Allen, Hancock, Putnam, Hardin, Auglaize, Mercer, Van Wert, Paulding, Clark, Defiance and Lucas.
Growth
Citizens National Bank had a strong year in 2023, surpassing $1billion in assets at the end of the year. Our customers continued to grow their businesses and expand their farm operations through loans funded by CNB. We grew our loan volume by 4.26% with a strong focus on commercial real estate and Commercial & Industrial growth.
We continue to look for ways to make banking easier and safe for our customers. We recently introduced SecureNow, which offers improved security for online/mobile banking and eliminates the need to update passwords frequently. We enhanced our credit card program to offer a more user-friendly card management portal for both personal and business cards. We also are focused on fraud education, providing tips through #NoFraudFridays on our social media channels, as well as regular communication with our business customers reminding them to check their accounts and take advantage of products such as Positive Pay, which can help catch check fraud before it happens.
As a community bank, we are focused on supporting local businesses and non-profits. Our employees volunteer their time throughout the year to many organizations, including the United Way and the Salvation Army, as well as many boards.
The size of our bank continues to grow, and we look forward to welcoming more staff into our organization to grow with us!
Ratings
Citizens National Bank is consistently rated high for performance and stability. We currently have a 5 Star Rating from Bauer Financial, and we were named as one of the Top 50 Community Banks in the Midwest in 2022 by S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Citizens National Bank (CNB) is proud to be named one of the best-performing community banks in the nation by The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA). All community banks in the U.S. were divided into categories by asset size: Less than $300 million; $300 million to less than $1 billion; and $1 billion or more. CNB surpassed the $1 billion in assets threshold in January 2024 and was named 24th in the nation for that category.
Special History
Citizens has a unique notoriety as being one of the banks that John Dillinger robbed in 1933. History has it that on August 14, 1933, John Dillinger and his gang came to Bluffton, stole $6,000 from The Citizens National Bank, and exited the bank, guns blazing (amazingly no one was injured) as they made their escape to the north.
In October of that year, John Dillinger was brought back to Ohio and held in the Lima jail (12 miles south of Bluffton) to stand trial for the Bluffton bank robbery. On October 12, Dillinger’s “gang” came into the jail claiming they were officers from Indiana and they were taking Dillinger back to stand trial there. When Sheriff Jesse Sarber asked for their credentials, they opened fire on Sarber, killing him and breaking Dillinger out of jail.
Dillinger was one of the most publicized criminals of the 20th Century. On July 22, 1934, however, Dillinger was brought down by “The Lady in Red” when he was killed by federal agents and police as he left a Chicago movie house.
Community Involvement
At Citizens National Bank, we believe it is our responsibility to support, improve, and give back to the communities we serve. We partner with our neighbors to focus on our community, with an emphasis on making it a better place to live and work. We do this by investing in and giving back to the community, with donations to local causes and non-profit organizations, and countless hours of employee volunteer time. When you do business with CNB, you benefit the community in which we all live and work.
