What even is a homestead? St. Landry Homestead Federal Savings Bank’s customers didn’t know either.
That was one of the reasons why the century-old financial institution changed its name to Catalyst Bank last week.
“Homestead. People don't understand what that is. Whether it's recruiting customers or recruiting talent, we always have to overcome the homestead name and explain that we're a bank,” said President and CEO Joe Zanco, who is already donning a new blue polo shirt with the Catalyst logo.
To add to the confusion, the $287.3 million-asset bank, headquartered in Opelousas, Louisiana, was easily mistaken for another local financial institution called St. Landry Bank and Trust. Consequently, both frequently received the other’s customers in their lobbies.
But the main reason for the new brand was a change in the bank’s mission.
“We’re positioning ourselves to grow the company, and fortunately we have the capital to do it,” said Zanco. “It is our belief that jobs are a key ingredient to helping communities thrive, and we believe community banking can play an especially important role in that space. So we want to be a catalyst for economic growth in our communities, and our new name matches our mission.”
St. Landry Homestead was established in 1922 and has serviced the Acadiana region of south-central Louisiana ever since.
“I'm sure some folks don't like the fact that we're giving up the St. Landry name. I understand that it is very important for this community, but from my vantage point, what's more important for this community is if we can become the next great bank in our region. And that's going to mean a heck of a lot more jobs for our community,” Zanco said.
Many small banks have been shedding their hyper-local names for years as they expand and try to stay competitive in an ever-changing industry, according to Lynn David, president and CEO of Community Bank Consulting Services.
David referenced when Northwoods State Bank in Iowa changed its name to NSB Bank in 2013 upon expanding its geographic footprint. Similarly, he recalled when Exchange National Bancshares in Jefferson City, Missouri, renamed its banking unit Hawthorn Bank in 2007 after making some acquisitions.
The announcement of St. Landry Homestead’s name change follows the bank’s mutual-to-stock conversion and the appointment of Catalyst Bancorp as its parent holding company.
Catalyst says that the new name will not affect regular business operations. Customer account numbers, PINs, routing numbers and other account information will remain the same. Debit card holders will receive a new card with the same account number and PIN in July, and until then, cards and checks will continue to function normally.
The new name and logo are already updated across online and mobile banking platforms, and new outdoor signage at the bank’s local branches was highlighted in a series of five ribbon cuttings on Sunday. Visitors to stlandryhomestead.com will automatically be redirected to catalystbank.com.
