When Amanda Morris-Feldman met Don Groenleer, she was a 25-year-old CPA working for Crowe Horwath LLP, her first job out of college, and he was chief financial officer at First Federal Savings Bank in Rochester, Ind. At the time, she had no reason to envision herself in his role. But five years later that’s exactly where she was. [Continue]
A lot of people talk about being a community banker, said Nate Lloyd, “but I don’t think you’d know what a community banker is and what it entails until you actually do it in a community that you care so deeply about.” By banking in his hometown, Lloyd, vice president of business banking at Minnesota’s Grand Rapids State Bank, has found fulfillment in the puzzle of understanding his community. [Continue]
When you drive onto a farm, you’d better have a feel for the position that farmer is in, said Juhl Erickson; you better understand their time is important. Erickson, chief sales officer for Spirit Lake, Iowa-based Bank Midwest, learned these things young. While growing up on a southwestern Minnesota farm, Erickson recalled the unsolicited sales calls made at the farm, and how his father, Frank, would call out the arrival of these peddlers the way one might announce an approaching storm: Here comes another one. [Continue]
Bank owners are in the throes of rethinking their branch networks. This process has been ongoing for years, thanks largely to the rising popularity of digital banking, but the pandemic has brought the question of the future of branches into sharper focus. Aware that a substantial share of customers likely won’t return to branches after Covid-19 fears abate, community banks continue to invest in digital banking tools that kept them in business during the pandemic. But small institutions haven’t abandoned the concept of the retail branch. [Continue]
From a hillside barn in Litchfield, Mich., a calf gnawed on Scott Ferry’s finger. He held up his phone, livestreaming the scene for his banker, Stephanie Brummette. “It’s almost feeding time,” he told her. “Oh my gosh. Best job ever. I’m glad I needed a signature,” Brummette said, beaming through her computer at Union Bank’s digital call center in Odessa, Mich. The two had been sorting out the paperwork for the fourth-generation Ferry Farm’s Paycheck Protection Program loan. [Continue]
Courtney Olson’s banking career began because of a family connection. While a freshman in college, Olson’s aunt, who was vice president of a community bank in Riverwoods, Ill., needed someone to fill in as a teller. Within a week, she was opening CDs and from there moved into a role as a personal banker. Every summer and winter break, she would return to the bank, eventually taking a full-time job following her graduation. [Continue]
National recognition by Newsweek surprised the team at Fidelity Bank & Trust, Dubuque, which serves 27 communities in northeast Iowa, plus two in Wisconsin and one in Illinois. The $1.5 billion bank is “very social,” said Kathy McAllister, chief retail and marketing officer. Getting a boost from a national magazine injected some octane in the bank’s already high-performance marketing strategy. In terms of its competitive edge, McAllister points to the bank’s social engagement and its investment in being the “local” provider. [Continue]
In an era when mobile banking implies transactions conducted via smartphone, Security First Bank, Lincoln, continues to deliver critical banking services to underserved communities through a branch on wheels. The bank launched the Badlands Express in 1998 to serve customers on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The fully-outfitted mobile branch makes four runs per week. [Continue]
In the past decade, Decorah Bank & Trust has reduced its carbon footprint to zero, down from 814 metric tons, and the bank has a majority market share in its northeast Iowa community, which prioritizes solar energy. In fact, the Decorah community is developing a reputation as the state’s solar power capitol. “As a community banker, the Decorah area is a wonderful, vibrant community,” said Ben Grimstad, president and CEO of Decorah Bank & Trust. “But we’re not growing the population.” [Continue]
Better ideas and inspiration through collaboration, focus, and family The DCI culture shared between its people and customers is often compared to a ‘family.’ This also extends to its approach in innovation, emphasizing collaboration, listening, and learning, with the customer always at the forefront. This means DCI never becomes complacent about customers because customers are … Read more