ALEXANDRIA — A lot of things have changed since January of 1999. TV screens became flatter, cell phones became ever-present, and Red River Bank grew from a single location on Alexandria’s Centre Court to a statewide presence with more than 300 team members in eight parishes. And on January 14, 2019 they will celebrate 20 years as a true community bank.
The last two decades’ changes in technology have largely changed the face of banking, but Red River Bank president and CEO Blake Chatelain says people are often surprised most by what the bank has managed not to change in 20 years. “No matter how many great new technologies we add,” Chatelain said, “people will always be our focus. You’ll always be able to walk into Red River Bank and see familiar faces—people who know you and your community.”
Community, Chatelain says, is what that team of more than 300 is celebrating. Looking back at this 20th anniversary of the bank’s founding, the bank’s president and CEO sees a growing tradition of community involvement, from team members’ voluntarism in civic groups and relief efforts to free financial education through Red River Bank “University.” Chatelain says the widespread use of the Internet over the last 20 years has helped multiply the impact of the bank’s outreach. “Our free seminars are more popular than ever,” he says, “and we’re able to reach even more people with our on-line tools.”
Red River Bank’s expanding sense of community—across the state and across digital platforms—points back to the ideals the bank was founded on, Chatelain says. “Our tag line says we’re the bank ‘Made in Louisiana’ and ‘Made for Louisiana,’ and that’s more than a slogan. It’s the reason we’re here.”
Red River Bank is the fifth-largest Louisiana-based community bank and serves customers from its 23 banking centers in and surrounding Alexandria, Shreveport/Bossier, Baton Rouge and Lake Charles. Headquartered in Alexandria and founded in 1999, the bank specializes in financial services and solutions for Louisiana consumers and small to mid-size businesses. Additional information can be found at www.redriverbank.net.
