Dave Nelson, chair and CEO of the $3.6 billion West Bank of West Des Moines, Iowa, is known for his succinct summation of industry issues in pithy talking points for policymakers and elected officials. Nelson, for example, was vocal during a multiyear effort by the Iowa Bankers Association to obtain tax parity with credit unions.
“It’s time to give them a pathway to citizenship,” Nelson said repeatedly about credit unions during the campaign.
The campaign was a success, as evidenced by a May 2022 change in state law which reduced Iowa’s bank franchise tax to 3.5 percent from 5 percent. The change brings the bank franchise tax in line with the 3.88 percent “moneys and credits” tax that Iowa credit unions pay.
Nelson recently got the opportunity to explain the importance of effective communication in advocacy. He received the IBA’s 2023 James A. Leach Award on Sept. 19. As he accepted the award before some 300 bankers attending the annual IBA convention, Nelson shared a story about his first visit to Washington, D.C., as a participant in an advocacy event hosted by the American Bankers Association. At the time, he was 35 years old and eager to make a difference for his industry.
Following the conclusion of the Capitol Hill visits, Nelson said he found himself seated next to an older Texas banker during a debriefing session.
“Sadly, I don’t even know his name; I know him only as the good old boy from Texas,” Nelson recalled. “But I can still hear his words. He said to me: ‘Well young man, you made your first banker visit to D.C. Tell me what you think.’
“I said, ‘Well, after talking to those people, it totally shatters my ability to think they even understand a thing I had to say.’
“And he responded, ‘So, you thought they would?”
“I said, ‘Well, yes, I did.’
The Texas banker pointed out that elected officials without a banking background had no reason to understand the industry. It was the job of Nelson and bankers like him to help them understand it through consistent advocacy: “‘You might be right about what you said, but if we didn’t do anything, it would be worse; so we need you to keep coming back and get in there and fight.’”
“I still think the good old boy from Texas summed it up quite well,” Nelson said. “I have always tried to remember that when speaking with policymakers. They are not bankers, and we shouldn’t talk to them like we would to another banker. So, I say those things on purpose. Things they can relate to, remember and they can repeat to others.”
Nelson, a Des Moines native, worked for Norwest Bank (now Wells Fargo) in Minnesota during the early years of his career, first in Mankato and then in Rochester. In 2010, he joined West Bank as CEO.
“Dave Nelson’s contributions to community banking are complemented by his abilities as a strong, charismatic, approachable leader who is personally committed to, and invested in, the success of his team members and the bank’s customers,” commented West Bank colleague Zach Stubbs. “His leadership is best defined by his philosophy that each employee is owed the ‘gift of clarity’ as to what is expected of them and how their development is critical to, and reflected in, the organization’s success.”
Despite his commitment to clarity, however, Nelson’s career started after a bit of confusion.
“As I was approaching graduation, I signed up for an on-campus interview with Bankers Life,” Nelson explained. “About a third of the way into the interview, I realized I was talking to Bankers Trust, not Bankers Life. I am not saying the error is why Bankers Life changed their name [to Pinnacle Financial Group], but it is how I got into banking. I certainly would not call it a mistake, but it was not on purpose.”