Editor’s note: Tony Nestler, president and CEO of Hickory Point Bank & Trust in Decatur, Ill., was recently named chair of the Illinois Bankers Association. He spoke with BankBeat about his plans to lead the organization from a standpoint of listening to members’ concerns. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Tell us about your personal background. How did you get involved in the banking industry?
Tony Nestler: I graduated from Northwestern University in 1992 and was really interested in building a career in my hometown of Springfield, Ill. The jobs were much more bountiful in Chicago than they were in Springfield, and I really struggled to find a good job in Springfield. So, I thought, if I go into the banking industry, I can go to any city in the country that I want to because there are good, independently owned banks in each city, including Springfield.
I started at American National Bank and Trust Company of Chicago, assigned to the Melrose Park, Ill., branch, and went through their formal credit development training program. I had interviewed with the Springfield Marine Bank before I took the job at American National, which was the oldest bank in Illinois, and the largest bank in Illinois, outside of Chicago, and really was my No. 1 place I wanted to go. They didn’t have an opportunity at the time, but called me early in my tenure at American National and said, “Hey, Tony, we’ve got a spot. We want you to come down and talk to us about it.”
In January of ‘93, I came down to what was then Bank One, because they had merged into Bank One out of Columbus, Ohio, and started as a credit analyst there, and then grew through the ranks at Bank One. In 2001, I made lead at Hickory Point Bank where I built a commercial banking business. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company at the time, so while I was there, I had the opportunity to lead a buyout from Archer-Daniels-Midland. In 2011 we completed the buyout, and I became president of the bank.
What about Hickory Point Bank & Trust makes you come back every day? What is the environment like and what keeps you going?
Nestler: Hickory Point is really a great organization. It’s headquartered in central Illinois. Our footprint is completely focused around central Illinois with great talent. Our bankers are highly talented and really invested, in many cases as shareholders of the bank, but invested in the success of the bank as well.
Our approach to business is a unique blend of entrepreneurialism and discipline. We believe that balance of entrepreneurialism and discipline is the key to long-term success in the banking business, because it provides the motivation to grow a business and serve customers and build value, while at the same time recognizing that the business requires substantial financial discipline and caution to ensure long-term success.
How did you initially get involved with the Illinois Bankers Association and what do you think it brings to Illinois and the banking community?
Nestler: I’ve been involved with the Illinois Bankers Association for over 20 years. It’s been a part of my time in banking since I came back to Springfield. The organization was founded in 1891, and one of the things that’s unique about the organization is that it serves all Illinois banks, from the smallest Illinois-based banks to the largest banks in the state. And there is a lot of strength and value that is created by representing everybody. It provides services, such as compliance-related consulting and education, a really substantial program of educating Illinois bankers. We provide very strong advocacy, primarily at the state level. We provide political advocacy and act on behalf of all Illinois banks in a way that’s more efficient and more powerful than any one bank could advocate for themselves.
What issues do you personally see facing Illinois banking and bankers? How are banks in the state doing right now?
Nestler: The banking industry in Illinois is very healthy. There are some challenges facing Illinois banks, including rising unemployment and inverted yield curves, as well as slumping commodity prices. Illinois’s largest industry is agriculture, and the agricultural industry is facing some headwinds for sure. There are rising loan delinquencies nationally and within Illinois. A lot of these things are telltale signs of a potential recession. The state of the industry is strong, but there are challenges. The industry is facing some liquidity challenges, challenges relating to unrealized investment losses, and rising funding costs for Illinois banks.
Is there anything in the next year that you’re particularly focused on?
Nestler: The organization has a strategic plan and a set of goals. For me as chair, I view my job as being one that helps all the directors, all members of the board, do their job effectively. So, I have some small-ball priorities of ensuring that governance practices are strong, that board packets are timely and accurate, and that directors are provided with the information they need to understand the issues and do their jobs of governing the organization and having opinions vetted and heard at the board level. A lot of my particular goals are more tactical in nature. However, the IBA has a set of strategic priorities that I also have a role to play in achieving.
The Illinois Bankers Association is gearing up for a year with new leadership. What would you say about the board’s current plans and what to look out for?
Nestler: I want to let the members of the Illinois Bankers Association know that we’re committed to building value on their behalf and making their membership at IBA a great value. We want them to understand that, collectively, we can do so much that we can’t do individually.