We test whether small US commercial banks that use a traditional business model are more likely to survive than nontraditional banks during both good and bad economic climates. Our concept of bank survival is derived from Stigler (1958) and includes any bank that does not fail or is not acquired. We define traditional banking by four hallmark characteristics: relationship loans, core deposit funding, revenue streams from traditional banking services, and physical bank branches. Banks that adhered more closely to this business strategy were an estimated 8 to 13 percentage points more likely to survive from 1997 to 2012 compared to other small banks using less traditional business strategies. This survival advantage approximately doubled during the financial crisis period.