Goodrich – Oxford Bank was officially welcomed to the Goodrich community last week.
‘Oxford Bank brings more than just a building to a community,? said Jeffrey Davidson, Oxford Bank president and chief executive officer, who introduced bank staff at the Jan. 21 ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Along with full banking services, the 2,800-square foot retail banking facility seems at home in the Goodrich community.
Contemporary tiled arches blend seamlessly with marble countertops at the five teller windows, reflecting Oxford Bank’s unique heritage.
The bank was started in Oxford, Mich. in 1884, after the family-owned Bank of Oxford was dissolved.
Henry Hoffman Holbert, a Bank of Oxford owner, became a founder of the newly-created Oxford Savings Bank, then located in Oxford’s William Tunstead building.
Although there’s no historical documentation as to why the Holberts dissolved the original privately-owned bank, Davidson theorized the family recognized a need for shareholders to gain capital to run and grow the bank.
Originally, Oxford Savings Bank offered its customers loans and savings accounts.
The first meeting of shareholders was held June 12, 1884, with a total of 19 shareholders.
Today, the bank has approximately 440 known shareholders, although shares held by brokerage house-clients are counted as only one share per brokerage house, Davidson said.
Checking accounts must have been offered the first year as well.
‘The first annual report had a line that said overdrafts,’Davidson said.
The report, dated Nov. 30, 1884, was signed by Gabriel Sherwood Holbert, founder and first CEO.
Holbert died soon afterward, at the age of 46.
Other founding families, including the Tunstead, Stanton, and Hosner families are still involved with the bank, says Davidson, one of the few area banks that hasn’t changed hands since its inception.
Banking expectations and services were different in those days.
‘Back then if you wanted, say, to withdraw $100, it might require 10 days,? Davidson said. ‘If you wanted $1,000, it might require two months. Today, obviously, your money is on demand so it’s more readily available, better accounting, things are automated, and things like credit cards, debit cards, P.C. banking.?
In July 1985, the bank’s name was changed from Oxford Savings Bank to Oxford Bank.
‘It’s always been a commercial bank,? Davidson said.
‘Being a commercial bank we didn’t want to be thought of as a savings and loan since there was so many savings and loans in trouble in the 1980s.?
Although the bank’s services and technology has changed to keep up with customers? needs, the hometown attitude remains the same.
‘Philosophically we’re pretty much the same,? said Davidson.
‘We continue to hire locally as best we can’make sure directors are local and from the community we serve.
‘Communities have grown so much we reach out further, but try to get presentatives on the board from the community.?
Before the Goodrich branch opened, Oxford Bank became an active contributor to the community by providing a free financial education program to Goodrich High School, and donating to community projects, including elementary school playgrounds.
In researching the location, Oxford Bank officials sought a service-oriented community, where ‘people want face-to-face contact, want to walk in see the president sitting there,? said Davidson, who has a long personal history with the bank.
His father, the late Donald C. Davidson, formerly served as director of the bank. Jeff Davidson opened his first savings account at a very young age, he said, and took out his first loan at the age of 18 for a ‘blue Chevy Nova.?
The new branch, located at 8125 State Road in Goodrich, is the seventh full-service branch of Oxford Bank, the first in Genesee County, which will be followed by a Davison branch this summer.
Along with five internal teller windows, management offices, a conference room, four drive-through teller lanes, and two automated teller machines, the bank’s lobby features a convenient customer service workstation, a wall-mounted waterfall, and a large plasma television displaying financial news and Oxford Bank information.
Lobby hours: 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, and 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.
Drive-through hours: 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Telephone: (810) 636-6900.