Chambers Bank is headquartered in Danville and is the 15th largest bank in the state of Arkansas. It is also the 837th largest bank in the nation. It was established in 1930 and as of March of 2022, it had grown to 267 employees at 28 locations. Chambers Bank has an A+ health rating.
Chambers Review *Updated*
(Update): 02.2021. I have closed my accounts with Chambers. They are still a great financial instiution with terrific services, but i contacted the head of their loan department and told him my story and first he gave me incorrect information and then he never returned my call. That just rubbed me the wrong way and I didn't apprecaite the treatment i received from him when I have been a good customer and was trying to get assistance with more banking products. That isn't the kind of treatment i want at my main bank. I still think it's a great bank for people who are able to bank at their other many locations.
I decided to switch to a local bank for multiple reasons and needed one that could meet my banking needs. This will be a in depth review of my experience so far as a new customer with Chambers Bank of Arkansas.
For a local community bank, the bank offers services that a lot of other local banks do not such as external transfers, mobile check deposits, a dedicated customer service line, and a money market account with checks. Their interest rates are terrible but so are all of the local banks in my town.
Their customer service representatives are knowledgeable but a few aren't the friendliest. Not rude or mean in anyway but just brisk and not very compassionate when dealing with certain reps.
Their online banking goes down from time to time, as does their ATM machines,and their external transfers take 2 complete business days to complete (request on Monday morning and money isn't available until Thursday morning) this is the slowest external transfer policy Ive experienced so far but im just glad a local bank has this option so I'll take it. They do not offer any new customer perks like free checks or any bonuses or special into rates on savings products. Chambers Bank is a financially strong bank with over 27 locations throughout the state. They offer people pay and external transfers, but do not use Zelle or EWS (I love that they dont use Zelle or EWS). They offer a chexsystems friendly account for people who need that.
Your debit card is instant issue and can be turned on or off instantly and alerts you instantly anytime it is used. You can also setup limits and usage alerts for your card. The bank also offers credit cards with low rates through a 3rd party that is not Elan (Another thing I love).
As long as you do not overdraw your account most of their accounts are fee free and pay a little interest, as long as you use their atms and stick to online banking. They also offer a overdraft transfer service for a 8.00 fee to transfer money from your savings to your checking should you spend more than you have available. This can save you the 30.00 returned item fee and is also a much less expensive option for accidents or emergencies.
Areas they need to improve on are: friendlier reps, higher savings rates for customers, better new customer offers, more reliable atm and online banking, better long term customer offers, credit cards directly through their bank, a rewards card with at least a 1.5% rewards rate, allow mobile deposits before 3 months as a new customer, do not charge fees for doing transactional requests over the phone.
Areas they exceed in: Financial strength, knowledgeable representatives both on the phone and in person, external transfers, people pay, turn debit card on and off, several great account options and account types to choose from, locations and branches throughout the state, affordable overdraft option should you need that, dedicated toll free customer service line, great fraud department.
Overall with the pros and cons they are an average bank that does have good account types and options. I would love to see them improve in a few areas but until a better option comes along that can offer what they do i'll bank with them for now.
I'll update this review in 12 months.
Ugh
Firstly, these people have not been very kind to me in general, and that's not ideal. It took THREE MONTHS for me to even be allowed to do mobile deposit. It cost $100 -- not $50 to open just a checking account, and even more to open savings. They're not open on Saturdays. I'm not really happy banking here, and I was much happier in Oregon, but beggars cannot be choosers in this sort of situations. Small towns don't have much to offer in terms of banking. They're not flexible on overdraft fees either. I once accidentally overdrafted FOUR items under five dollars, and they charged me $35 on all four of them. Ridiculous.
Data as of Q1 2022
Learn why bank health mattersHealth Grade Components
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| FDIC Certificate # | 5615 |
| Year Established | 1930 |
| Employees | 267 |
| Primary Regulator | FDIC |
| Profit Margin | |
|---|---|
| Return on Assets - YTD | 1.21% |
| Return on Equity - YTD | 11.14% |
| Annual Interest Income | $11.9MM |
| Assets and Liabilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Assets | Q1 2022vs Q1 2021 | $1.23B$1.12B |
| Loans | Q1 2022vs Q1 2021 | $925.9MM$855.5MM |
| Deposits | Q1 2022vs Q1 2021 | $999.8MM$902.9MM |
| Equity Capital | Q1 2022vs Q1 2021 | $143.1MM$111.0MM |
| Loan Loss Allowance | Q1 2022vs Q1 2021 | $11.3MM$10.5MM |
| Unbacked Noncurrent Loans | Q1 2022vs Q1 2021 | $364.00K$317.00K |
| Real Estate Owned | Q1 2022vs Q1 2021 | $1.5MM$2.1MM |
