INTERVIEW WITH BOB JONES

Needless to say, 2020 was a year like no other, as the COVID-19 pandemic changed life — and business — as we knew it. I am proud to say, however, even faced with these unprecedented challenges, the United team pulled together and accomplished much on behalf of our customers, our company and our community.

In fact, I could not have been more proud of the way our team responded. It was with great pleasure and pride that I watched them work together — albeit remotely — overcome challenges, share information and find creative solutions to even the most daunting problems.

In addition to finding new and innovative ways to meet our customers’ needs during this time, we also decided to support our local businesses by enthusiastically participating in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). During 2020, we made 950 PPP loans that ranged from $400 to $2 million, which helped many businesses in our communities keep their doors open and employees on the payroll.

Assuming the pandemic might cause significant credit problems, we increased our reserves by $1.6 million. Normally we put $50,000 to $70,000 a month into reserves to allow for loan losses.

Ultimately, the diversity of our income sources gave us the ability to offset trends, weather disruption, and maintain stability. We’re confident this same diversity of income will sustain and propel us forward.

OUR COMPANY

Our commitment to community and economic development is strong, and our track record speaks for itself. In 2010, United Bank became the first bank in Alabama to be a certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). Since then, the Bank has worked with its partner, UB Community Development, to expand local markets and invest in local businesses. The partnership has created and retained many jobs and improved the quality of life in our communities. In fact, UB Community Development has grown into the Southeast’s premier financial partner for affordable housing as well as economic and community development.

Our work goes beyond investing in businesses. We’ve tapped into other community development lending programs to help small cities upgrade their infrastructure, purchase new vehicles for their volunteer fire departments, build new city facilities and much more. We’re also very active in the affordable housing space, helping finance the building of new affordable communities for seniors and families throughout the Southeast.

Our involvement in community and economic development has gone way beyond being a facet of our business strategy. It has become our passion. We believe it is what defines us and sets us apart from other banks. We couldn’t be more proud of what we’ve accomplished and what we have planned for the future.

When United Bank was founded in 1904, it was a community bank. While the Bank’s original leaders couldn’t possibly imagine what we’ve achieved and how we’ve grown, at our core we are still a community bank. One that has accomplished much and has a bold, promising future while still adhering to its foundational mission.

OUR MISSION

We’ve always been more than a bank. We’re champions of families and supporters of small business. We’re educators, boosters and volunteers. We’re a Community Development Financial Institution that works every day to build and grow communities, create and retain jobs and strengthen our local economy. We’re an engine for innovation, a catalyst for change and we’re committed to helping improve the lives of the families and individuals who call this area home. It’s just who we are. It’s at the heart of everything we do.

Because we understand that, we’re all in this together. We are one ecosystem and we can only succeed if our communities are healthy. We understand that our children need good schools to attend so they can become the business leaders of the future. We understand that people need good jobs so they can shop at local businesses, eat at local restaurants, buy homes in our communities and build stronger neighborhoods. That our businesses have a financial partner to help them grow so they can create good jobs. And that our seniors and struggling families can have access to affordable housing so they can live with dignity and be contributing members in our communities.

As we all certainly learned in 2020, we need each other, so much more than we realized. We can only survive and thrive when we work together to solve problems, overcome obstacles and improve our lives. At United Bank, we knew this long before the COVID-19 pandemic because it’s how we’ve been doing business for years.