Reports from places that do not vote Democrat seem to suggest that local banks are in much better shape than the media and Congress would have you believe. This is what CNB has to say on their web site:

As with any business, banks need access to credit. Commercial community banking is a business of intermediation. That is, we gather the deposits from people we know and make loans to people we know. We recycle the dollars depositors place in our bank into loans to business and individuals to carry out productive purposes: growing a business or buying a home or car right in the communities where we live, work and play.

At the end of each day, we balance our Bank’s balance sheet. We total our loans and investments (assets). We total our deposits and equity (liabilities and capital). If the assets exceed the liabilities and capital, we buy (borrow) the difference from the overnight credit market. In the opposite case, we sell (lend) funds into the overnight credit market. On any given day, we generally buy or sell between $20 million and $50 million.

Just as we regularly advise our customers to, we maintain access to reserves for a “rainy day.” Over the last decade we have taken conscious steps to increase our access to credit (reserves). Our principal credit sources are the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York (FHLB) and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRB). With both of these banks, we have established secured lines of credit. To the FHLB, we pledge your mortgage loans, and with this pledging have access to $100 million in overnight funds. With additional collateral, we can borrow another $100 million. To the FRB, we pledge your automobile loans, and with this pledging we have access to over $125 million. Thus, we have access to over $325 million in credit should we need it, or about eight times our average daily borrowing needs. Measured another way, this $325 million is about one quarter of all deposits in our Bank. By any measure, we have more than sufficient access to credit to provide you the loans you need and support your deposits as you clear your checks. Thank you for banking with The Canandaigua National Bank and Trust Company.

Lawrence A. Heilbronner, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer