XENIA — Union Savings Bank cut the ribbon on its new Xenia location May 30 and with it continued a unique partnership with a local college.
USB teamed with Central State University to form the Summer Banking Institute, a 10-week summer internship program which trains and then places CSU students in banks around the region.
The innovative program was the idea of Louis Beck, chairman of Union Savings Bank, whose branches serve Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.
This year’s program began May 14 with 23 students, which is a little more than double the number of participants from last year. After four weeks in the classroom, the students will complete a six-week internship at one of seven participating banks around Southwest Ohio.
In the classroom, students are exposed to different functions of the bank such as marketing, accounting, mortgage lending, commercial lending, and retail banking among other topics. Upon completion of the program, they are awarded college internship credit plus a certificate in universal banking.
Of the nine participants last year, seven were hired permanently to work at various Union Savings Bank locations. All Xenia tellers went through the program, according to bank officials.
