Civista Bank Celebrates 135 Years

Sandusky, OH (March 22, 2019) – This Sunday marks the 135^th anniversary of Civista Bank. According to CEO and President Dennis G. Shaffer, the bank will celebrate the occasion in its branch offices on Friday, March 29^th. “I am truly honored to be a part of our company’s rich history of community banking and I look forward to celebrating this milestone with employees and customers throughout 2019.”

The bank opened its doors on March 24, 1884, in downtown Sandusky with four employees. Today Civista has over 400 employees and 38 locations throughout Northern, Central and Southwestern Ohio, Southeastern Indiana and Northern Kentucky. In those early years, the bank operated from rented rooms in the Sloan Block on Columbus Avenue until a new building was constructed on West Market Street. The bank continues to be headquartered in downtown Sandusky, having invested $2 million dollars in building its current 100 E. Water Street headquarters in the early 1980s. “Over the past 135 years, Civista has continued to grow and transform itself into a premier financial services company while maintaining its commitment to relationship-banking and making a difference in all the communities we serve,” added Shaffer. The Civista name reflects that story of transformation. “As we grew into new markets, the original Citizens name often became confused with over 300 other financial institutions bearing the Citizens name in the U.S. until we rebranded the bank in 2015 as Civista,” explained Shaffer. “A combination of ‘civic’ and ‘vista’, meaning view. Together, our name reflects our commitment to banking focused on you - our customers and the community.”