When considering a community banking career, most people would do their research, maybe take a class or two, or talk to a lender or analyst. But cold-calling the head of your local institution? That’s the strategy Kevin Forristall opted for when he was considering a move from Wells Fargo to a smaller bank. He’d found the bigger company a less than ideal fit, but stuck it out for two years learning as much as he could. [Continue]
On the northern side of the Minneapolis suburbs, Village Bank is building a community: Employees and customers alike are invited to partake in building something a little more personal. Lending a guiding hand is banking consultant and former banker Marcia Malzahn, who has been on the board for just under three years and a part of the local community banking industry much longer. [Continue]
Just before the pandemic struck, Anita Drentlaw began overhauling the culture at New Market Bank. As president and CEO of the bank, Drentlaw wanted to develop a commitment to leadership at the $190 million bank, located on the south side of the Twin Cities metro. Developed by an ex-Marine, the program she implemented at the Elko Market Bank focused on creating a leadership mentality among its graduates rather than situation-specific training. It’s helped create a unified culture with buy-in from all participants. [Continue]
When the Cambridge, Neb., branch of First Central Bank McCook caught fire early one Sunday morning in June 2016, it could have turned into a crippling event. Instead, up stepped branch president Tammy Sexton, who promptly dug into the to-do list getting a temporary branch set up. That facility, initially held in a community center meeting room, was up and running by Monday afternoon, less than 48 hours after the start of the fire. [Continue]
When State Nebraska Bank & Trust in Wayne first looked at rebuilding its Campus Branch on the north side of town, CEO Matt Ley knew it was an opportunity to do more than update the 1980s structure. The bank bought some adjacent lots and decided to add leasable Class A office space to the building — plus something extra. [Continue]
When Sarah Fankhauser became president and CEO of core provider Data Center Inc. — the first woman to lead the Kansas-based company in its 57-year history — she faced an unfolding and historic pandemic that spurred the industry to become increasingly reliant on technology. Having come up through company ranks on the customer support side (after beginning her career at a bank), Fankhauser’s people skills proved consequential. These are skills hewn by experience. [Continue]
The realities of the core processing industry are stark: The industry’s Big Three — Fiserv, Jack Henry and FIS — account for the vast majority of the market. The remaining wedge is divided among a range of smaller shops. At its heart, the pitch from smaller core providers mirrors the one community bankers give those considering them over their largest competitors: They offer a high-touch, focused service model with real people responding to inquiries, problem-solvers able to understand and react to swiftly or at least explain their limitations without sounding like automatons. [Continue]
With Huntington Bancshares’ acquisition of Michigan’s TCF Financial, the M&A market put an exclamation mark on 2020. [Continue]
Melanie Hall lived through Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, and the experience surged to the top of her mind this year. The commissioner of Montana’s Division of Banking recently compared the pandemic’s economic impact to the storm and its destruction. Despite state and Federal help, “[the impact] will come home to all people eventually,” Hall said. “We need to be ever vigilant that it could come to our banks. [Continue]
What does it mean to be family built and community strong? That’s the question Aleesha Webb asked herself as she rejoined Village Bank in 2018. She’d begun her career at the Minnesota bank led by her father, but had taken time to work in other financial institutions. As newly minted president and vice chair, she took stock of the situation and what needed to be tweaked.
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