With seven locations already thriving in Nassau and Suffolk Counties, Community National Bank’s (CNB) move to Queens – after three to four years of contemplation and calculation – was inevitable.
“So far, so good,” said Stuart Lubow – President, Chairman and CEO of CNB – referring to the eighth branch recently opened on Bell Boulevard in Bayside. “With the density of population and local businesses, we are going to do really well.”
A confident statement to make during a recession, but Stuart says the now receding wave of the tumultuous economic climate was hardly an issue for CNB as they have grown from $200 million in assets in 2008 to approximately $500 million in 2011. In fact, a nationwide analysis of the 800 largest listed banking companies in the United States in 2010 ranked CNB at 41st – the highest rated Long Island bank based on market returns and reliability. According to Lubow, the opening of their first Queens location is only the beginning.
“Unlike larger banks, when we decide we want to go to a certain location, that’s a big capital investment for us,” said Lubow. “It’s something we take very seriously. We try to understand the community by getting involved with the [Queens Chamber of Commerce] and the local Business Improvement Development (BID). We try to support local businesses not only in a banking standpoint but as a neighbor and a consumer. We are a community bank. We have no illusions about our size.”
It’s their size that has made CNB a champion of personalized service as they remain open seven days a week for customers who cannot make it to the bank on a weekday. There is also the option to bank online with CNBconnect at www.cnbny.com; a 24/7 web site that allows for balance statements, fund transfers, front and back check displays and access to CNB’s bill pay service. Managing a business is hard enough, but CNB simplifies the effort through their Business Online Banking which features account-to-account transfers and payments, wire transfers, federal/state tax payments and much more.
“Customers still can’t get their cash out of a phone or computer,” said Lubow regarding CNB’s business hours. “Convenience is part of what banking is all about.”
Born in New Jersey and receiving his Bachelor’s Degree in accounting at Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Lubow is a career banker with a long history of success. At the age of 29, he was the Senior Vice President and Chief Operations Officer at Dollar Dry Dock Bank in New York. It was during this period that Dollar Dry Dock received national acclaim for its innovative approach to retail banking. That same spirit of innovation is still alive and well after more than thirty years as a banking executive. A key to Lubow’s success has always been intuition and meeting challenges head on.
“Once the market bounces back and the big boys jump back in, there will be more competition – but we are prepared,” said Lubow, who lives in Mill Neck with his wife and daughter. We structure and build banking solutions for our customers instead of trying to fit round pegs in square holes. It’s a relationship business for us – and in the end, it makes a difference.”
Even after the Small Business Administration (SBA) recently named CNB the number one SBA lender on Long Island increasing from $8 million to $17.9 million over the last seven months; after winning the FIVE Star Award by independent analysis firm Bauer Financial and being awarded the Community Based Lender Award by the Long Island Development Corporation, Lubow – who built CNB from the ground up – refuses to take credit for the success.
“It’s all about the people,” said Lubow. “I have a great group of people that work hard.”
On hand for the ribbon cutting at Community National Bank’s Grand Opening were Donna Frasco, senior vice president and chief retail officer; Stuart Lubow, chairman, CEO and president; Councilmember Dan Halloran; Victoria Schneps-Yunis, publisher of the Queens Courier and Assemblymember Grace Meng.
