About ISB
Investment Savings Bank is a community-based, PA-chartered, "well-capitalized" FDIC-insured Mutual Savings Bank and mortgage-based lending specialist, with offices in Altoona and Hollidaysburg. One of the soundest, strongest and safest institutions in Central PA, it enjoys the highest rating ("five-stars") awarded by the independent ratings service Bauer Financial – a distinction ISB has earned for over 24 consecutive years.
At a time when mergers and acquisitions are creating name and ownership changes for many Pennsylvania institutions, Investment Savings Bank is both here to stay and committed to the very operating fundamentals that make it one of the last true community banks of its kind.
Simply put: looking out for the best interests of customers and community is ingrained in the way ISB does business. Its management, staff and Board of Trustees are from here, live here, and take pride in making a difference here. At ISB, every loan decision is made locally and deposit dollar is re-invested locally, to ensure local needs are being met and local benefits are being realized.
ISB offers depositors, borrowers and homeowners a relationship-based banking experience (typically on a "know your name" basis), a commitment to customer service that's second-to-none, and the peace of mind that comes with knowing: "when you call Investment Savings Bank, you won't be talking to someone halfway across the globe."
Where We Came From
ISB traces its origins to Altoona's "Little Italy" neighborhood over 70 years ago – but its roots go back even further. Chartered in 1939 (under the name Investment Building and Loan Association of Altoona Pennsylvania), and operating continuously since its inception, today's ISB was born out of the consolidation of a number of smaller building and loans, whose names (Germania, Teutonia, Eighth Ward, etc.) often reflected the immigrant constituencies and working neighborhoods of their era.
Starting in 1940, the newly consolidated operations set up shop in a small frame building at 808 Twelfth Street. A new charter soon followed, creating Investment Savings and Loan Association of Altoona Pennsylvania as a state-chartered mutual (meaning it was owned by its depositors, as opposed to owned by shareholder investors). In 1953, operations moved into the newly constructed facility at 1201 Eighth Avenue that continues to serve as the institution's headquarters (undergoing numerous expansions along the way). The branch office at 322 Allegheny Street in Hollidaysburg was opened two years later.
It wasn't until 1994 that Investment Savings Bank assumed its present form as a Pennsylvania Mutual Savings Bank, signaling a renewed commitment to depositor-ownership, institutional independence and community-focused values that continues to this day – a commitment that remains fundamentally rooted in "who we are and where we came from."