The Woodlands Real Estate Blog

The bank opened a new loan production office in The Woodlands in February 2006, paving the way for the full service bank. Chartered in 1949, Citizens Bank is an independent community bank with headquarters in Kilgore, Texas and eight banking center locations throughout Texas.

The oil and gas loan department was established almost 20 years ago specializing in tailoring oil and gas loans to fit the borrower's needs. ""We saw a niche in the oil and gas lending arena that had a need for reserve-based lending to the small independent oil and gas producers,"" said Sammy York, president and CEO of Citizens Bank. ""We're well acquainted with the unique needs of their business and have provided them with sound solutions.

""We value long-term relationships with our customers,"" York said, ""and provide quality customer service with easy access to a decision maker who knows the customer and their business. We are about as close to a 'handshake' as you can get in today's business."" York described Citizens as ""a solid country bank that's not for sale."" ""We intend to be here for the long term,"" he said. ""We're not for sale and our name won't be changing. We are looking at the needs of communities like The Woodlands to see how we can accommodate them.""

Lance Gordon, CEO of Citizens in The Woodlands, said his banking philosophy focuses on using his experience to help customers build businesses and provide security for their families. ""We want our customers to be able to walk or call in, and find someone to talk with right then who can provide answers or direction,"" Gordon said. ""We will make decisions locally and make it as easy as possible to do business. We're not leaving or changing so we really do want to establish sound, long-term business relationships.

""Being involved in the community is an important part of who we are,"" Gordon said. ""We live here and want to see it thrive. We have a plan in the works that will involve students who are interested in banking to be involved in a program that teaches them how it works as a business and personally. Those are the kinds of things we want to bring to community. We're also about integrity. At the end of day it's not about greed, it's about helping people. We want to do it wisely and well.""" Posted by Tamborrel Bulox Team on January 1st, 2014