Danielle Smith’s favorite question to ask people interviewing at the Nebraska Bank of Commerce is what do they not want to do.
And she has her own answer for it: practice law. Smith, Nebraska Bank of Commerce’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, earned her law degree from the University of Nebraska Lincoln in 2012 after majoring in English at Simpson College. She is more of a self-trained banker, focusing on compliance and human resources.
“I was intrigued by the blend of customers when I started here, and I really loved seeing the creativity from the lenders and bankers I go to meet who were really trying to match needs and goals with the customer base,” Smith said. “That was something I was really drawn to because I don’t believe in cookie cutter banking because people have different needs. Every bank has a similar set of products, but you can use those products to really maximize value for different customers.”
Now, Smith is the go-to person at the bank for technology issues, too, while overseeing HR and compliance. Smith is one of five women being recognized as an Outstanding Woman in Banking for 2024 by Bank News magazine.
Laura Meyer Dick, a board member at Nebraska Bank of Commerce, said she sleeps better at night knowing Smith is the right person in the right position at Nebraska Bank of Commerce.
“She brings a lot to the table in a wide range of departments and that is tremendously helpful, especially in a small bank,” Meyer Dick said. “She embodies community banking because she can take on multiple paths and do them all well. She’s a very good role model of how to be strong and know your worth.”
Meyer Dick often calls Smith to ask about things, banker to banker, allowing her impact to extend past her own bank. Meyer Dick also is an officer at First Kansas Bancshares, the holding company for the First National Bank of Hutchinson, Kan.
Having a law background gives Smith a unique perspective on banking, Nebraska Bank of Commerce President and CEO Joel Clements said. She keeps her standards high for the entire bank, he said, and leads by example.
He said the entire team rises to her level to have the best quality of work at every level.
“Her background gives her a mindset to sift through what’s right and wrong and make a decision quickly when the facts are presented to her,” Clements said. “There’s not a lot of hesitancy and when she makes a decision, she makes the decision. She’s allowed us to not get stuck on certain things and allows us as a team to push through when we hit a rough patch.”
Smith started her career in banking in high school and college, as a teller for her local bank in State Center, Iowa. Knowing she wanted to have many responsibilities in a career, community banking stole her heart.
“I get to work in the whole alphabet soup. I get to work in every letter of regulation and oversee HR,” she said. “I’ve met people who just do one part of it and specialize, and I’m sure that’s great, but to me I would miss the variety, the IT conversations, and regulation. That’s why I chose community banking. We get to do so many things.”
Inside and out of the office, Smith encourages young women like herself to get the support they need in every aspect of their lives.
She is a Board of Trustees member of St. Monica’s, an organization focusing on women facing substance abuse and rehabilitation. Smith also works with the Philanthropic Educational Organization (PEO) to advance women in education with scholarships. In the office, she takes a step back and supports the women on her team when she’s needed.
“I’m a big believer in giving people a why,” she said. “It gives everybody a greater sense of meaning … It’s seeing people both in their career and personally, knowing what makes up the whole person. It’s being very intentional about seeing other women in the spaces that we’re in, and kind of figuring out or showing them, here is a way forward.”
Clements said Smith’s leadership and goal setting in the office makes a real difference for Nebraska Bank of Commerce. While she is often behind the scenes, he said she plays a critical role in making sure everything runs efficiently for the bank’s customers and employees.
“I’ve worked with her since she got here and she is the backbone of this bank,” he said. “I cannot overemphasize that she has made our growth path much easier by being here.”
While she did not have a conventional path to becoming a banker, Smith said she’s proud of her and her team’s work. After 12 years in the business, she is excited to continue finding creative solutions with the people and business owners she works with while giving them the confidence to do what they do best.
“Our customers aren’t used to navigating [banking],” she said. “I’m happy to have those conversations with business owners because I feel comfortable reading regulations and giving them the confidence in an area of their business that isn’t their business. Most people didn’t go into business to be bankers, especially our customers. They went into business to do something else. So, whatever I can do to minimize the work for them is the value that we’re adding.”
