By ALLISSA KLINE
akline@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1612

The long banking career of one of the region's community banking executives could have taken several twists and turns.

Instead, David Mancuso walked a straight road that led him to the top of Lake Shore Bancorp Inc. It was not the path he imagined for himself at 19, when he took a job as a bank teller at the then-tiny savings bank in Dunkirk.

"It wasn't a career (option) for me at first because of the size," said Mancuso, president and CEO of the Dunkirk-based company. "But I was in the right place at the right time and I was able to grow with the organization. I was promised a future here."

Forty-five years later, he is wrapping up his career at Lake Shore, parent of Lake Shore Savings Bank. He plans to retire Jan. 28, capping a 17-year presidency during which the bank quintupled its branches and raised assets from $115 million in 1993 to $460 million today.

"My mind-set has always been, ‘You have to know when to let go.' So I made that decision and I'm kind of excited to see how it's going to unfold," Mancuso said.

The Dunkirk native is one of several Western New York community bankers who have spent the majority of their careers at one financial institution. He may not hold the longest local reign, but he has witnessed - and led - several key changes at Lake Shore and the banking industry as a whole as he worked his way from bank teller to branch manager to mortgage officer to commercial lending officer to president.

The most obvious change since 1965: Lake Shore's expansion from a single-branch savings bank in Chautauqua County with seven employees to a publicly traded institution with 10 branches in two counties and 130 employees.

"We saw a lot of small banks dying and we realized that, in order to be viable, we needed to grow," Mancuso said. "We also realized that Chautauqua County didn't have a lot of opportunities for growth, so if we were going to grow, we had to go into areas that were strong."

The bank looked north to Erie County. It opened a branch in Orchard Park in 2003, then moved into other communities. It now operates five branches in the county, plus five in Chautauqua County. It expects future expansion to continue within Erie County, specifically in or near Williamsville. Mancuso said the bank recently tried to purchase a parcel on Sheridan Drive but could not get the proper zoning permit. Another branch or two within the next five years is a real possibility, he added.

"I do think Erie County still has tremendous opportunities for growth," he said. "It's just a matter of finding the right location in that area."

His bank's relative stability has drawn attention over the years from larger banks interested in merging with or acquiring it, Mancuso said. But the opportunities were never seriously considered and neither he nor bank leadership foresee mergers or acquisitions in the future.

"We were always comfortable doing what we were doing, and we felt dedicated to this community," he said. "We felt we had a place in the marketplace, and today we feel we're more valuable than ever. Community banks are becoming stronger, and it's not because of size."

Much of Mancuso's attitude about banking comes from lessons learned during his six-year enlistment in the U.S. Navy Reserve. He served two years of active duty early in his banking career and returned home ready to learn everything he could about the industry, which was swiftly changing as savings-and-loan institutions nearby and around the country went out of business or merged with healthier companies.

Today, he considers Evans Bancorp Inc., Cattaraugus County Bank and the Bank of Akron to be competitors of Lake Shore. He said the bank manages to distinguish itself from them by focusing on customer service. It also tries to stay in line with technological changes in the industry, including the recent mobile banking focus. Lake Shore doesn't yet offer mobile banking, but it plans to roll out a product by the end of the year.

Lake Shore's board of directors, which includes Mancuso, had not named his successor as of Aug. 24. Chairperson Michael Brunecz of Fredonia said the group wants to announce a new president as soon as possible in order to "ensure shareholders and the community and staff that we have leadership going forward," but he emphasized the board will do its due diligence to find the right person. He would not specify whether the board is looking internally only or considering outside candidates, as well.

Industry peer E. Peter Forrestel II of the Bank of Akron said the next leader at Lake Shore must be in touch with the community in order to successfully lead the bank.

"You've got to have someone with the ability to get to know the community and know its needs, and at the same time have the management skills to manage the branch network and assemble the team to help him or her do that," said Forrestel, who served on the New York State Banking Board with Mancuso.

Mancuso, meanwhile, plans to remain a member of the bank's board of directors, at least through May 2012 when his term expires. He said the bank, which weathered the recent financial crisis despite a few down quarters, is well-positioned for a new leader. The new federal financial regulations could be challenging to meet, but he isn't worried about Lake Shore's future.

"I think every community bank that's well-run will deal with it as long as they keep their business plans in place," he said. "I don't see this as the demise of Lake Shore or community banks in general."