Piedmont Federal
There is in my hometown of Winston-Salem (OK, the nearest town of any size to my hometown of Pfafftown and where one went to see Santa Claus) a financial institution called Piedmont Federal Savings Bank. When I was growing up it was known as Piedmont Federal Savings and Loan, and it was where I kept my meager "going to college" funds.
The primary business at Piedmont since its founding in 1903 has been savings accounts and home mortgages. Run by the Mitchell family for three generations since 1911, it has never lost a dime of a depositor's money, even during the Great Depression. How has it managed to do this?
Simple. It has never, in 105 years of operation, sold a customer's mortgage. That means it has never taken on a mortgage which it didn't believe wouldn't get repaid. And, no, it has never made a subprime loan.
Piedmont gives me a warm feeling of comfort that some financial institutions are still being run by responsible businessmen.
Then, of course, there is the little Moravian bank — Wachovia National Bank — across courthouse square from Piedmont, founded in 1879, that seems to have completely lost its way when it became affiliated with that crowd down in Charlotte. It is being acquired today by Citigroup after suffering $42 billion in losses associated with subprime loans.
Bummer.
The primary business at Piedmont since its founding in 1903 has been savings accounts and home mortgages. Run by the Mitchell family for three generations since 1911, it has never lost a dime of a depositor's money, even during the Great Depression. How has it managed to do this?
Simple. It has never, in 105 years of operation, sold a customer's mortgage. That means it has never taken on a mortgage which it didn't believe wouldn't get repaid. And, no, it has never made a subprime loan.
Piedmont gives me a warm feeling of comfort that some financial institutions are still being run by responsible businessmen.
Then, of course, there is the little Moravian bank — Wachovia National Bank — across courthouse square from Piedmont, founded in 1879, that seems to have completely lost its way when it became affiliated with that crowd down in Charlotte. It is being acquired today by Citigroup after suffering $42 billion in losses associated with subprime loans.
Bummer.
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