Banking on You Featuring Meridian Bank

It’s really about People

From its 2004 inception in suburban Philadelphia to operating across five states, Meridian Bank has remained committed to the idea that people are the key, both to its success and to the success of the many communities it serves. It begins with hiring the best and brightest, then empowering them to make decisions and to innovate. It follows with loyalty, both to its customers and to the actual communities in which Meridian does business. By employing a set of entrepreneurial core values in both its internal and external relationships, Meridian has helped build neighborhoods, supported charities, volunteered, and worked diligently to make a difference.

Strengthening the Community of Philadelphia

While it is an important player in the financial life of the vibrant suburbs that surround the city of Philadelphia, Meridian Bank’s vision has extended to financing much needed housing in the city itself. In partnership with Riverwards Group, a pioneer developer of affordable housing, and one of the Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation’s (PHDC) development partners, Meridian has participated in projects to build energy-efficient homes for first-time homebuyers on publicly owned land across Philadelphia. One example was a project to build 15 single-family homes in the city’s East Kensington/Port Richmond neighborhood.

At a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Meridian’s most recent project, in March 2025, Riverwards’ Managing Partner Mo Rushdy said, “I want to acknowledge the CEO of Meridian Bank, Chris Annas, who has been a supporter of us for the last 15 years. He believed in us back in the day when no one did.” 

Looking at a Bigger Picture

At Meridian, valuing people means a willingness to work with customers, even when they have been overlooked or misjudged by others. When homeless veteran, Carly, became a customer of Meridian, she was struggling with mental health issues. She shared with the team that she suffered from severe PTSD from being a prisoner of war. Meridian Bank showed her unwavering support, helping her manage her finances and teaching her budgeting skills. She steadily began reconnecting with family and doing counseling. Meridian Bank stood by her, believed in her journey to get her life back, and helped her achieve financial stability.

Kathrine, a woman with three young children who lived in Section 8 housing, is now a homeowner. Despite the challenges that came with her home loan—working four jobs to meet the downpayment requirements—due to the Meridian Mortgage Team’s hard work and expertise, her closing was made on time. “It’s deals like these that keep my fire burning in the challenging mortgage world we live in,” said Tom Rhodunda, Mortgage Loan Originator at Meridian Bank. Being able to help people is one of their strongest motivations for why they do what they do.

A Model for Success

Meridian CEO Chris Annas was a visionary when he founded the bank in 2004. He foresaw that banks would be looking to shed expensive bricks and mortar as financial transactions fled to online channels. His “Branch Lite” model and continuing adoption of efficient technologies enabled Meridian to achieve profitability early on and to remain profitable. And part of that on-going success has been sharing that profitability. It does so by providing its customers, both personal and business, with a combination of online banking tools and high-touch personal service that maximizes their own financial efficiency. It shares that profitability with the overall communities it supports, both by direct financial contributions to important local charities and organizations, and through a pattern of loyalty that has helped sustain its customers through the toughest financial cycles. And it shares that profitability by putting people firmly into its operational equation. People have made Meridian Bank successful, and Meridian Bank makes people successful.