From the pulpit to the corner store: Rethinking community engagement in housing

When Jeremy Davis, President of Mortgage at Southern Bancorp, talks about community lending, he doesn’t start with CRMs — he starts with barbershops, corner stores and churches. In this conversation with Diego Sanchez, Davis lays out how institutions can take cues from the everyday places where trust already lives. His core message? “Get into the community, don’t just speak to it.”

This interview breaks down why trust can’t be scaled, and marketing can’t replace meaningful connection. Davis dives into the core of what lenders get wrong — and what Southern Bancorp is doing differently. From listening first to firing within, this isn’t a feel-good initiative. It’s a strategy rooted in long-term impact and equity. 

“CDFIs aren’t just another type of bank,” Davis explains. “We’re chartered to serve. That means showing up, investing in relationships, and sticking around when things get tough.”

Davis, who grew up in public housing, says that background shaped his philosophy on community development. “I talk a lot about barbershops, churches, and corner stores,” he said. “They’re the real centers of trust in a neighborhood, and they can teach lenders a lot.”

From CRM to corner store

To Davis, building trust begins with presence and genuine curiosity — not transactions.

“I was getting my haircut, and my barber asked about a house I mentioned months ago,” Davis recalled. “He didn’t need a CRM to remind him — he just cared. And honestly, that barber probably knows more about his clients’ financial lives than most lenders do on day one.”

This provides a glimpse into a larger issue, which is how lenders engage (or fail to engage) with underserved communities. “Too often, financial institutions show up once, set up a booth, hand out some merch, and leave,” he said. “But trust doesn’t pack up and go home after the ribbon-cutting.”

Translating isn’t the same as listening

Davis also cautioned against the “performative” engagement approach that far too many lenders fall back on. “I saw a lender post one Spanish-language flyer during Hispanic Heritage Month and then celebrate like they’d solved it,” he said. “But trust isn’t built in translation. It’s built in conversation.”

Davis believes in showing up consistently, listening before offering solutions, and tailoring those solutions to the community’s actual needs — ideally before anyone even asks for them.

Barbershops, churches, and corner stores

Each of these neighborhood institutions offers a key lesson for lenders:

• Barbershops teach us to listen. “There’s no CRM, just a relationship built on trust.”
  
• Churches teach us to be transformational, not transactional. “If a pastor endorses your down payment program from the pulpit, that’s not marketing — it’s ministry.”
  
• Corner stores remind us of what it means to be present. “They know your kids. They know your candy. They know you.”
  

A strategy of presence

So how can lenders pull it all together? Davis says it’s simple, but not easy. “Don’t show up just when there’s something to sell. Invest in relationships. Offer education. Then, and only then, offer products and services that match those needs.”

At Southern Bancorp, that strategy is already in place. “We’re doubling down on what we already do best — building trust, learning from the communities we serve, and becoming less a visitor and more a neighbor,” Davis said. “Underserved communities know the difference—and they know it before you even make it from your car to the door.”