BNY Mellon (NYSE: BK) said that they polled community banks across the US on everything from their investment priorities for the next year (such as AI and RTP) to what they need to best serve various client segments. During the last year, BNY launched its Voice of Community Banks survey and whitepaper, which has been done in collaboration with The Harris Poll, in order to get a pulse check on the state of community banking institutions operating across the United States.
Community banks are more than FIs — they may be considered the heartbeat of local economies, the “stewards of trust, and the architects of inclusive growth,” explained Shofiur Razzaque, Head of Community Banking & and Solutions, BNY. They added that as the financial ecosystem continues to mature, BNY is committed to supporting these institutions “with the tools and insights they need to build a more resilient future.”
For this year’s survey, BNY said that they captured key insights from community bank professionals— and also wanted to hear from small business executives within their communities.
According to their latest survey and research findings, the majority or more than 50% of community banks said small business clients, “ranging from brick-and-mortar retailers to professional service providers, were their #1 customer segment.”
Since each type of small business has been evolving and has its own needs, they wanted to learn more about these emerging demands — and “pinpoint where community banks can help best fill gaps.”
One community banker shared that as they expand into new markets and customer segments, they’re making “a deliberate effort to bring together information from all business lines, so that they can make genuine data-driven decisions.” This should enable them to capture “more opportunities, gain wallet share, and deliver real value to our customers.”
The insights from BNY’s survey further revealed that over half of the small business executives they polled “plan to begin or expand relationships with community banks.”
The top reason cited was “satisfaction with client service.”
The BNY survey shows that significant “investments from community banks in AI, cybersecurity and fraud prevention, and digital banking capabilities will be top of mind in 2026.”
Additionally, of the “23% of community banks that plan to invest in modern payments next year, such as Real Time Payments, nearly 50% rank the capability as their top investment priority.”
As noted in a blog post by BNY, operational efficiency has also stood out as a potential opportunity for community banks “to retain and land new small business clients.”
Of the community banks that BNY has polled, those that are growing their small business clientele were “nearly twice as likely to report digitizing manual processes, with 48% more likely to invest in AI for operational efficiency.”