By Betsy Brewer Brantner
Contributing Writer

The days of community banking are not gone, according to Doug Byers, the chief banking officer at Presence Bank. The bank recently moved from the location at 126 S. Third Street in Oxford to a prime location at 24 S. Third Street.

Presence Bank was formerly Coatesville Bank when they purchased the property in the late 1980s. They had every intention of growing and they did. The decision to move to the current location was because the property would require a considerable amount of money to update and renovate.

“It made sense to us to sell the former building to Beiler-Campbell and to lease our new location from them,” Byers explained. “We will have off-street parking so that is a plus. We feel we are in a more convenient area close to the Post Office, parking garage and businesses.”

Byers added, “We are committed to working with the borough on sidewalk and store front improvements to help everyone. We are headquartered in Chester County. We, as a community bank, are investing here because we plan to stay.”

Presence Bank, like many businesses, stepped up to provide assistance during the terrible fire in downtown Oxford  in September of 2023. The fire on S. Third Street destroyed buildings and damaged numerous businesses and displaced more than 20 families. 

Presence Bank contributed funding to help those that lost their housing at that time.

“It has been very important to the bank to have a good relationship with the Borough of Oxford, and we are committed to that,” Byers said.

Byers explained, “We will be having a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, April 3 at 11 a.m. hosted by Oxford Mainstreet, Inc. (OMI) and the Oxford Area Chamber of Commerce.” For more information, call Chris Grove at 619-932-0740. 

In keeping with the Oxford connection, two persons on the Board of Directors of the bank are Spencer Andress and John Pinno, both well-known residents in the Oxford and surrounding area.

Andress, who owns Government Specialists, Inc., has worked with Presence Bank to put together a new sidewalk project.

Andress explained, “The bank has a program of low-interest loans to support development and redevelopment in this geographic area. It is geared toward census tracts. The program provides small interest loans to people in the Oxford area to repair and replace sidewalks.”

For more information on Presence Bank, which is now located at 24 S. Third Street, call 610-686-8733. The bank and drive-in are open from 8 a. m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The ATM is open 24 hours a day.