Rooted in community since 1959

A bank built on community

Summit Bank opened its first branch in January 1959. Founded by James H. Calloway Sr. with $300,000 in capital and a conviction that community banking should be exactly that — community first.

By 1975, Summit had grown to 12 branches, earning a reputation for approving small business loans that larger institutions turned away. In 1981, Summit became one of the first community banks in the country to introduce Saturday branch hours across its entire network.

Growing across the country

The 1990s brought careful expansion into new markets. Unlike many regional banks that grew through aggressive acquisition, Summit opened each new branch from the ground up, staffing it with local talent and building deposit bases by serving the communities already there.

Today, Summit Bank operates full-service branches across multiple states. Its asset base has grown to $4.2 billion, but the operating model is unchanged: local credit decisions, relationship managers who know their customers by name, and a commitment to reinvesting deposit dollars in the same communities where they were raised.

Our mission

Summit Bank exists to be the most trusted financial institution for every customer it serves — not the largest. We measure success by mortgage approvals for first-generation homebuyers, SBA loans for founders who couldn't get a meeting at a national bank, and the number of high-school seniors who open their first checking accounts at Summit every fall.