1st Summit Bancorp of Johnstown has announced the appointment of Allison Johnson as President and Chief Executive Officer of both the Company and the Bank, effective March 28, 2025. She succeeds Eric Renner in the role and will continue to serve concurrently as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Enterprise Risk Officer. Johnson’s appointment marks a key leadership transition for the community bank as it sharpens its focus on navigating sustained market headwinds and positioning for long-term growth.
With over seventeen years of experience in banking and finance, Johnson brings to the role a track record of strategic leadership, especially during periods of change and transformation. Her background includes leading banks through mergers and acquisitions, enhanced operational processes, initial public offerings, and restructurings, —experiences that now come into focus as the banking sector faces unprecedented pressures brought on by a stubbornly high interest rate environment and dynamically evolving economic conditions.
Prior to joining 1st Summit Bancorp as CFO in 2024, Johnson held similar roles at Mid Penn Bancorp in Harrisburg and Spirit of Texas Bancorp in Houston. Her experience managing financial strategy across institutions of varying scale and geography gives her a wide-angle view of both the risks and the opportunities that regional and community banks face today.
Johnson assumes the CEO role at a time when community banks across the country are contending with a difficult macroeconomic environment. After an extended period of historically low interest rates in the 2010s and early 2020s, the Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate-hiking cycle in response to persistent inflation has reshaped the landscape for lenders. The result: pressure on net interest margins, reduced demand for loans, and heightened competition for deposits.
“Many community banks are dealing with a mismatch between the duration of their assets—such as longer-term loans and securities—and the rising cost of their liabilities, particularly deposits,” Johnson said in a prepared statement. “That dynamic has made profitability more difficult to maintain, even for well-capitalized and well-managed institutions.”
In simpler terms, banks like 1st Summit are earning interest on loans and investments made when rates were much lower, but now must pay significantly more to retain customer deposits or secure wholesale funding. This interest rate squeeze has been particularly hard on banks with balance sheets heavily weighted toward fixed-rate assets with longer maturities.
This isn’t just a local story—it’s a national trend. According to recent FDIC data, community banks saw declines in net income throughout 2024, driven largely by narrowing interest rate spreads and rising funding costs. For many institutions, asset rebalancing and strategic repositioning have become top priorities.
Recognizing these realities, Johnson is stepping into the CEO role with a clear strategy: rebalance the Bank’s portfolio of earning assets as market conditions evolve, optimize the cost of funding, and position 1st Summit for sustainable growth in a potential high-rate world.
“The goal isn’t to chase yield or overextend. It’s to be ready—to have the right mix of assets and the right funding sources in place to move decisively when the market gives us an opening,” she said. “It’s about building resilience and agility.”
This includes evaluating existing loan and investment portfolios to reduce duration risk, seeking opportunities to redeploy capital into higher-yielding, shorter-duration assets, and being opportunistic about funding sources. Johnson emphasized that capitalizing on lower-rate funding, whether through strategic deposit growth, Federal Home Loan Bank advances, or other vehicles, will be key to fueling future loan activity without further compressing margins.
“Access to cost-effective funding will differentiate banks that are able to lend and grow from those that are forced to sit on the sidelines,” she added. “That’s where strong balance sheet management becomes a competitive advantage.”
While the macroeconomic environment commands attention, Johnson is equally focused on strengthening the Bank’s internal operations and customer-facing services. In her dual roles as CFO and Chief Risk Officer, she has already led efforts to enhance internal processes and reporting frameworks. Now, as CEO, she plans to take that approach even further.
“One of our priorities will be improving communication—internally with our teams, and externally with our customers and communities,” Johnson said. “That means more transparency around how we operate, clearer expectations, and a culture that supports open dialogue and continuous improvement.”
That commitment also extends to process modernization. Johnson believes that small changes in how the Bank handles day-to-day transactions, customer interactions, and back-office operations can add up to major gains in efficiency and customer satisfaction. Investments in digital banking tools, training, and workflow improvements are all on the table.
“Our customers expect—and deserve—a seamless, best-in-class experience,” she said. “That doesn’t mean trying to be the biggest bank or the flashiest. It means being the most reliable, the most responsive, and the most trusted financial partner in our community.”
Her past work at Mid Penn Bancorp and Spirit of Texas Bancorp included navigating fast-paced growth, acquisitions, and major regulatory changes—all under heightened scrutiny. Those experiences, Johnson says, taught her the importance of strong governance, risk management, and clear communication.
“In banking, things can change fast. The institutions that succeed are the ones that know their risks, know their markets, and can act quickly without compromising safety or trust,” she said.
As 1st Summit Bancorp moves forward under Johnson’s leadership, the focus will remain on stability, adaptability, and long-term value creation. The Bank’s core mission—to serve the financial needs of individuals, families, and businesses across its communities—remains unchanged. But how that mission is carried out will continue to evolve.
“This is a challenging time, but it’s also an opportunity,” Johnson concluded. “We’re a community bank. That means we’re close to our customers, responsive to their needs, and committed to their success. That’s our foundation. What we’re doing now is building on that foundation to ensure we’re just as strong and just as relevant five, ten, twenty years from now.”
From strategic asset management to modernized customer experiences, the new chapter under Allison Johnson reflects both the resilience of 1st Summit Bancorp and its willingness to adapt. While no bank is immune to the pressures facing the industry today, with steady leadership and a forward-looking strategy, 1st Summit is preparing not just to endure, but to lead.
About 1st Summit Bank –
A true community bank for the past century, 1st Summit Bank primarily focuses on relationship banking for both consumers and businesses within our region. 1st Summit Bank provides banking, financial, and investment services through 17 full-service community offices and a loan production office within Cambria, Westmoreland, Blair, Somerset, and Indiana counties.
