Each year, the Greater Muncie Indiana Habitat for Humanity hosts a ‘Volunteer Dinner’ to celebrate and thank the volunteers who’ve helped them accomplish goals of raising money, building awareness and building homes.

This year at the dinner, we were given the Corporate Partner of the Year award. Over the course of 2011, MutualBank employees helped to build homes and raise money for Habitat for Humanity by paying $5.00 to wear jeans one Friday. We had the opportunity to underwrite a grant yielding the Greater Muncie Indiana Habitat for Humanity $50,000 in funding from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis. Additionally, we hosted the “Traveling Wall” for the “$10 Makes a Difference” campaign.  Lastly, we serviced nearly all of the Greater Muncie Indiana Habitat for Humanity mortgages.

It was a true honor for us to be named Corporate Partner of the Year.  After all, MutualBank’s motto is to help people live better lives. It closely ties to Habitat’s motto: “Build Hope, Build Dreams, Build Community”. Together, we help people achieve their dreams of home ownership. Furthermore, our community is better when more people have safe and affordable homes
to live in.

We thank the Greater Muncie Habitat for Humanity for their service to our community, giving employers opportunities to serve the community and honoring MutualBank as the
Corporate Partner of the Year. 

Pictured (Left to Right):
Lindsay Arthur, Executive Director, Greater Muncie Habitat for Humanity
Jennifer Volk, Senior Staff Auditor and Outreach Committee President, MutualBank

Have you ever participated in a Facebook contest?  On November 14^th, MutualBank began its very first Facebook contest. The contest is called “Reward Yourself”. It’s designed to get you thinking about how you would reward yourself if you were to win some free money. 

So what do you have to do to participate?

It’s easy. You go to our Facebook Page and like our page. From there you can enter the Reward Yourself contest. All we need from you is your name, email address and a photo of you rewarding yourself or how you’d reward yourself if you won.

We’ve seen people stop there. They’ve taken the time to enter the contest, but they haven’t taken the final step of sharing the contest with their friends and family. The more you can share it and get your friends voting, the more likely you’ll see victory!

At the end of the contest, which is December 16^th, the three photos with the most votes will win the prizes. (Which are AWESOME if I can share my biased opinion.)

First place wins $1,000 VISA gift card.
Second place wins $500 VISA gift card.
Third place wins $250 VISA gift card.

Let’s put things into perspective. What can you get for $1,000?

Two iPads
 

Four flights from Indianapolis to Orlando for Spring Break

Two night stay in New York City over New Year’s

100 movie tickets
 

Clearly, the prize is worth it. Not only because it’s worth $1,000, but because you get to choose what to do with your reward.  And rewarding you is what we’re really excited about. We can’t wait to hear how you will choose to use the money whether it is for a new kitchen countertop, a tropical trip or simply to pay for groceries for a few months. It’s your choice.

So here are a few tips to help you be successful:

1. If you’ve not yet liked our page or entered the contest…what are you waiting for?
2. Share the contest with your friends and family.
3. Remember everyone, including you, can vote every single day.  (After today there are only 23 days left!)

And keep in mind, rewarding yourself isn’t just for this month long Facebook contest. At MutualBank, you can always reward yourself with UChoose Loyalty Rewards. UChoose Loyalty Rewards reward you for your loyalty to MutualBank. Learn about all of the ways you can reward yourself just by doing everyday banking.  Remember, we’re excited to reward you, through this contest and throughout the entire year! 
Go ahead! Start rewarding yourself today!

Trunk or Treat

Who: You! Everyone is welcome!

When: 3-5pm 

Where: Muncie Main Office Parking Lot, 110 E. Charles St. Muncie

"The customer is our reason for being here." - Unknown

There is so much truth to that quote.  At MutualBank, we know we are here because our customers have been loyal to us for 122 years.  

Our Granger financial center is setting aside some time to do what we can never do enough,
say "Thank You!" If you're in the Granger area, be sure to swing by tomorrow from 9a-5p.
We want the opportunity to say thank you. 

Maybe you're reading this and are thinking, "Hey, I'm not in the Granger area," so you can't stop by. In that case, on behalf of MutualBank, I say "Thank You".  If you ever have a question, want to share your good or bad experience, or need some additional help, please let us know!

We want to hear from you! You can talk with us on Facebook or Twitter. If you'd prefer to email us, go ahead! You can also call if that's easiest. Call us at 800-382-8031.

THANK YOU!!

“It’s not easy, being green…” lamented Kermit the Frog, in the Muppet movie.  Well, it’s not easy being a banker these days either.   A 24 hour news cycle does its best to hype up the changes in the banking industry so that by the time a customer comes into a bank, they are already annoyed.

You hear it from everywhere; Banks are charging for everything now!  Next they will charge you to breathe inside the branch!  OK, maybe this is an exaggeration, but it’s the feeling consumers have.  It’s not easy being me!

Well, it is easy to be a customer at MutualBank.  Mutual’s new changes to checking accounts give you the opportunity to keep your checking account free by doing what most people do anyway.  For instance you can avoid a monthly fee on one of our customizable checking accounts by simply using your debit card 8 times a month and getting eStatements.  I don’t know about you, but I use my debit card way more than 8 times a month.  And eStatements?  Not wasting all that paper is great for the planet as well as your filing cabinet!  Simple right?  Not only that, but we also reward you for using that debit card!  With our Uchoose Loyalty Rewards you get points for using your debit card that you can exchange for almost anything from a gift card all the way to airline miles. 

Yes, there have been some major changes in banking lately.  But even Kermit would agree that its not so bad to be green when your green is with MutualBank.

Written by Debra Jones-Price, Manager at MutualBank's Bethel Financial Center in Muncie, Indiana.

I was visiting with a colleague after a networking meeting last week.  After conversing for a few minutes, I asked her, “What do you want from your bank?” She replied, “I want to get money every time I swipe my debit card.”

She went on to explain how she pretty much only uses her debit card and it would be great if she could get something in return for doing so.

In March of this year, CBS News posted a video and news article about how banks are cutting back on their debit card reward programs.  The reasons for the cut back include both a downward economy and the interchange regulation changes.

The conversation with my colleague jogged my memory of this article and got me thinking about MutualBank’s debit card reward program. Here is my colleague, living in a community where MutualBank resides and she’s banking with another institution that doesn’t give her what she wants. Am I the only one who thinks there is something wrong with this picture?

I proceeded to tell her about MutualBank’s debit card reward program. MutualBank has offered a debit card reward program for over three years.  They've always appreciated their customers. But over the last year, MutualBank evaluated how they could express that appreciation in a way that would positively impact their customers.  They wanted to physically thank their customers for their loyalty to MutualBank. So what did they do? They expanded the debit card reward program to be a full scale reward program, solely based on loyalty. 

I shared with my colleague that not only does she get points for using her debit card, she also would get points for the balance in her accounts, balances on mortgages, auto loans and investments.  My colleague is a younger professional who does not yet have a mortgage.  The great thing about MutualBank's loyalty reward program is that they're here to grow with her. As she obtains new accounts at MutualBank, she gets bonus points.  And after she earns all of these points for all the different relationships she has with MutualBank, she can redeem the points for just about anything she wants.  She can redeem her points for gift cards, plane tickets, hotel stays, a new laptop, really, almost anything!

So…are debit card reward programs extinct? Nope. Not at MutualBank, at least. In fact, MutualBank’s debit card reward program is not only alive, but it’s an advance loyalty program designed to say one thing…

2011 marks Muncie's Habitat for Humanity 25th anniversary of serving families in our community with 'a place to call home'. 

In October of this year Muncie Habitat will build a home for its 100th family! Muncie Habitat is inviting the entire community to ‘Make a $10 Dollar Difference’ and support the funding of this house. In just one week (This week - September 12-17), Muncie Habitat and local media outlets are campaigning to raise $50,000 through $10 donations from 5,000 people in our community.

On Monday, September 12th, the 'traveling wall' made it's appearance at the Downtown Muncie office! 

MutualBank and Habitat for Humanity have been longtime partners. In fact, for their entire existence in this community, MutualBank has supported Habitat for Humanity. MutualBank has worked with many of Habitat’s partner families.  MutualBankers have donated both work time and personal time to help on worksites. Additionally, MutualBank has helped Habitat for Humanity secure grants for funding. 

So the question is...why? Why are we so involved? It's simple. 

"Homeownership makes a difference in the lives of families. A decent place to live is the foundation for a better life."

Habitat for Humanity has this statement on their website and it is the exact reason why we support Habitat for Humanity. We support home ownership and want to help people live better lives. So we'll do our part, it's your turn to do yours. If you'd like to support Habitat's efforts to build their 100th home, you can donate in three ways:

1. Habitat for Humanity's website
2. Any MutualBank location -in Delaware County
3. Any of the locations of the traveling wall
   1. Wednesday 9/14 - 3p-6p Dillman's Furniture
   2. Thursday 9/15 - 4p-7p Texas Roadhouse
   3. Friday 9/16 - 3p-6p Victory Honda
   4. Saturday 9/17 - 3p-5p Glass & More Factory

Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday MutualBank. Happy birthday to you!

On September 7, 1889, the Mutual Home and Savings Association was formed. The purpose of Mutual Home over a century ago was very simple. The Association provided a safe place for saving money and a source of funds available to the community for the building and purchasing of homes.  122 years later, we still serve that purpose, but are better equipped to serve all of the needs of our customers of today.

As one of the oldest businesses in our markets, MutualBank has grown and prospered over the full course of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first century, meeting the financial needs of its customers through times of war and peace as well as prosperity, recession and even depression. While on the surface this proves we are a bank that meets the needs of our customers; there is something greater that exists below the surface. There is a culture that unless part of the MutualBank family, you might not know exists. When you become part of the MutualBank family, you learn that this is much more than a job that earns a paycheck. You learn about the essence of MutualBank – heritage and personal responsibility.

Heritage. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines heritage as “something transmitted by or acquired from a predecessor”. After 122 years in business, we realize there were many before us who paved the way and created a culture in helping our neighbors. Our entire organization was founded on the premise that it could help people improve their lives. One of my favorite stories over our history is of a time during the Great Depression. It is told as follows:

“Even a greater problem which people encountered during the 1930’s involved meeting their mortgage payments. Once again, however, Mutual Home fared reasonably well; but, unquestionably, people who were unemployed found it extremely difficult to make their mortgage payments. If a delinquency became too serious, the usual policy called for the property to be deeded back to Mutual Home, which, in turn renovated and rented it, sometimes to the original purchaser with an option to re-acquire it at a later date.” Walter Burt, who was a member of the board of directors at Mutual Home said of that time, “We just had to be flexible and patient and work out the best arrangements that were possible. In time, most people got back on their feet. Many repurchased and eventually paid off their loan.”

To understand the heritage of MutualBank automatically changes what we do from just “a job” to something personal. MutualBank is a mid-sized community bank. We have checking accounts, loans, and mobile banking just like other banks. So what makes MutualBank special? Our employees are dedicated and take personal responsibility to continue moving forward with our already established culture. If we take personal responsibility to provide the best service, do what is right and have compassion and respect for our customers, we believe our customers would not want to bank with anyone else but us.  

Obviously, we believe our duty and our role in the community is much more than providing financial services. We are people and a company seeking to help people, to help our neighbor. We’re just using banking as a platform to do so.  And that’s always been the case. We know, understand and consciously make decisions based on the fact that if it weren’t for our customers and our community, we wouldn’t be here. It is truly a tribute to our customers and our communities that we have been in business for 122 years. Our hope is that the partnership between MutualBank and the community has been mutually beneficial.

We thank you for taking a moment with us and celebrating the success and longevity of MutualBank. 

Did you know the Merriam-Webster dictionary now references google as a verb?

Definition of GOOGLE
transitive verb:  to use the Google search engine to obtain information about (as a person) on the World Wide Web

I find this interesting because I google everything! I have a BlackBerry, so it makes it easier for me to google things I'd never think to google. Yesterday I was having lunch at a local restaurant. A song came on the restaurant's satellite station that was playing as background music. Two people at my table were having a friendly debate about who sang the song and what decade it was released. Not being a music connoisseur, I was clueless of the answer. So what did I do? I grabbed my phone and it became a race for me to identify the correct answer by googling it before the debate was over. (For those that have to know, I did find the answer and could affirm the one individual who was arguing that Robert Palmer sang "Bad Case of Loving You".)

The reason why googling is so successful is that you can find everything you could ever want to know, just by searching a few words. But let me ask, how accurate are the results? To be honest, they are pretty accurate, especially on simple things. But have you ever thought about googling your financial questions?

As I mentioned, I google just about everything. But when it comes to my money, I want to be sure I'm getting 100% accurate information. Sometimes I prefer to talk to someone face-to-face. And more often than not, I don't want to share personal financial questions unless it's with someone I trust. I have worked hard for my money and I want to be sure the answers I receive are customized to me and my situation. But there are many times I want to research options and give myself time to ponder before I take time to meet with someone. Sometimes, I want to be educated and have an idea of what I want or need before someone tells me.

Are you like me? Do you want to take time to research options and advice before you're ready to take the next step?

If so, MutualBank is taking steps to meet your needs. On October 3rd, MutualBank is releasing an Education Center designed for you. The Education Center will have articles to help you research that next financial step in your life. It will have calculators to help you determine what makes sense. For example, one calculator can help you determine if refinancing your mortgage is right for you.

Get the best of both worlds: the ability to research your options before you take the next step and research with someone you already know and trust. Because at MutualBank, we're here to help you live a better life.

There have been a lot of concerns surrounding the current US economic situation. While it is serious, there are a lot of different views that are creating more confusion. Here are some quick thoughts that I believe will shed some additional light on the situation.

Debt Ceiling

In the first few days of August we heard that we had reached our debt ceiling and that if it was not raised, the US would be in default on its obligations.  There is some truth, but also some misconceptions in that thought.  Assume you are utilizing a credit card to pay bills, etc with a $10,000 limit and you currently have $9,500 balance on the credit card, you have $500 remaining prior to hitting your personal debt ceiling.  What are your choices if you want to continue to use the credit card? {Get another credit card, get a line increase}.  If you have the ability to get another card or get a line increase, you will not default on the payments you are making, but payments may be delayed or delinquent until you get the new card or a line increase.  You would still have the ability to make payments on your bills rather than using your credit cards you will be limited to what is in your checking account or the cash you have available.  Congress needed to increase the “credit line” or debt ceiling so the US Treasury could continue to borrow.  While the US was not bankrupt like other European nations, without the increase the US Treasury could not continue to issue debt to pay the bills.  While the US Treasury would still have been able to pay some bills due to revenues, other bills could not be paid because the government is paying more out than they are receiving in revenues.  This practice of paying out more than revenues at the current pace is not sustainable and Congress must find a way to match revenues and expenses in the near future (balanced budget).

S&P Downgrade

S & P reduced the ratings of the US government due to the above discussion.  In normal situations, a downgrade of a company’s rating would result in the company to pay higher interest rates due to being seen as a riskier investment.  After the S & P downgrade the US Treasuries interest rates actually decreased due to it being the most liquid currency and the faith put into the US economic system around the world.  So, while a decrease in the S & P rating should not be taken lightly, due to the increasing debt of the US, we should not allow others to convince us that the sky is falling.  The most liquid, secure investment continues to be US debt (Treasuries) and other corporate debt will continue to be priced off of US Treasuries.

Conclusion

Congress must find a way to reduce the increase in the US debt.  The final outcome will probably be increased revenues (tax increases) and expense reduction (reducing government programs) to help balance the budget.  The current level of expenses versus the revenues generated is not sustainable and a balance approach to solving this issue is necessary.

Chris Cook, CPA, MBA
Senior Vice President, Treasurer and Chief FInancial Officer
MutualFirst Financial, Inc. and MutualBank
Email Chris