Reading Cooperative Bank – 230 Lowell Street

This Wilmington branch of Reading Cooperative Bank gives local residents access to a cooperative bank whose roots go back to 1886. RCB stresses that it is owned by the people who bank there, its customers, rather than by stockholders in some far-off city. The bank offers savings products such as certificates of deposit, and its banking specialists can help with deposits, withdrawals, loans and financial planning.

The bank frames its purpose as banking for all and puts much of its effort into community programs. Each year the Reading Cooperative Charitable Foundation supports dozens of local organizations chosen by customer vote, with past funding for scholarships, hospitals and environmental work. Staff members visit schools and civic groups to teach free financial literacy lessons, and the bank hosts seminars on recognizing elder financial exploitation.

What to Know

• Bank@Work brings traveling specialists to workplaces, and Bank@Home brings them to senior living facilities.
• Local nonprofits can apply for free promotion of events on in-branch TV screens and RCB social media.
• Deposits are FDIC insured to at least $250,000, with additional deposits covered by the Depositors Insurance Fund.