Tag Archives: community banking

Community Banking Month – April

The Independent Community Bankers of America, of which Iowa State Bank and Trust is a life member, is celebrating community banking in the month of April. The positive impact that the 5,700 community banks dispersed across the nation on their local areas is very important to the health of those localities as well as our nation.

When you bank locally, you are investing in your community. Community banks fund 60% of small business and more than 80% of agricultural enterprises. They contribute tax dollars that support schools, local municipalities, and counties.

You have a choice in your financial relationships, but as you choose, please consider:

COMMUNITY BANKS HONOR AND RESPECT THEIR NEIGHBORS AND COMMUNITY TIES: Banks such as Iowa State Bank and Trust are locally owned and managed, which means that they can only thrive if their surrounding trade area is viable and vibrant. The bank cannot be successful without the local community growing.

COMMUNITY BANKS BUILD RELATIONSHIPS: Bankers at Iowa State Bank and Trust seek to know their customers and deeply understand their financial needs. They go the extra mile to meet those needs through thick and thin. Customers are not just “transactions”.

COMMUNITY BANKS GIVE BACK TO THEIR COMMUNITIES: Serving the local area is second nature to the community bankers at Iowa State Bank and Trust. They give their time, talents, and a considerable amount of money to community organizations and school districts.

We encourage you to join us in celebrating Community Banking month and hope that you will give Iowa State Bank and Trust an opportunity to serve you.

– Dave Eastburn, Chairman of the Board

Insights from Dave

In the past several years we have all experienced the economic consequences of poor banking decisions. We have also experienced its personal tragedies which are the direct results from some very large, complex financial organizations using toxic real estate related products that incented fraud, as well as to over 2.6 million “fake” accounts opened to achieve flawed compensation goals. Should we shoot all the bankers? I’m afraid that those of us whose careers have been in the community banking world would like to make a clear distinction before we take such drastic action.

There is a very real difference in banking institutions. It can be broken down into two business models. First, is the large, complex banks who view their customers as simply transactions. Everything is based on price and maximizing returns from the bank’s perspective only. They desire a high volume moving through their “distribution network” as quickly and as efficiently as possible. Therefore, they have very little involvement with their customers and provide minimal assistance. Second, is the smaller, community focused banks whose primary objective is to build relationships. Since they reside in the communities they serve, everyone at that bank has a stake in the economic prosperity of the area. They need and want to personalize their financial solutions and thoroughly get to know their customers. The impact of decisions on their neighbors, friends and the local community holds them accountable.

Why is this important? Because community banks that hold to the relationship model do not defraud their customers. In fact, they are the true engines of growth in the United States. In the past year, community banks extended financing to 76% of all of the small business applications made to them while large, transaction based banks fulfilled only 58%. Small businesses drive employment in our country. Community banks which control less than 20% of the banking systems assets, provided more than half of all of the small business loans in this country in 2016, and they did this with 75% of the customers reporting being very satisfied with their overall contact and experience.

Our economy and financial system does not need the concentration of 50% of banking assets and deposits in the hands of just 6 banks who are not committed to any local area or their customers. We need the diversification of 7,000 community banks spread across the country who are relationship based and customer focused.

– Dave Eastburn, Chairman of the Board

Ranching with Russ

The old saying “Knee high by the 4^th of July” seems a little crazy now that the corn is mostly waist high in the first half of June. It’s hard to picture over a month ago that I was out walking our two dogs on a cool, crisp morning. While the dogs were doing their business, I looked over at my neighbor’s fields that were tilled up. I was able to spot the rows of corn sprouting through the crust. My neighbor’s John Deere tractor and planter were parked at the end of the lane after a night of planting soybeans, ready for the next day’s freshly tilled field work. I imagined how much farming has changed since the land was first surveyed and parceled by the original owners. It is hard to visualize now what farming would’ve looked like with the farmers using teams of horses to clear and work the land. I remember spending time with my grandparents and great grandparents listening to them talk about growing up in rural Iowa. Can you imagine living through the Great Depression and then witnessing the booms in farming after World War II?

I enjoy looking over vintage aerial photos of our local farmsteads and how they’ve changed over the years. Not only aesthetically but, in functionality as well. The old photos displaying magnificent barns with hay lofts, corn cribs, farrowing sheds, and chicken houses give perspective of a different time. The newer photos of the same farms show the transition over to Morton-type pole barns, grain bins with legs, and hoop buildings. I was born in 1973 so I can remember how the rural Iowa landscape changed at that time with a horizon dotted by blue Harvestore silos. Unfortunately, that agricultural “boom” didn’t last either and the farm crisis of the 1980’s was deeply engraved in my memory as well. It definitely affected my family while growing up on our farm in Southeast Iowa and changed rural America forever.

Growing up on a farm in the 80’s and early 90’s was not easy after the crisis. However, we re-grouped and learned to get by on a little less while working a little harder. This is a large part of why I enjoy working with farmers today. It is gratifying for me to be a part of the process whether it be helping with a beginning farmer loan or helping a customer expand their current farming operation. Our experienced lenders will help you take advantage of opportunities in the good times and figure out prudent solutions in the down times with responsible lending practices. That’s the great thing about our locally owned and operated bank. The lending decisions are made by people who live in the areas we serve and who understand the needs of our customers.

I’m sure you can tell by now that I’m a little nostalgic. Our country’s checkered history intrigues me. Poncho and Lefty on the radio, old photographs, and faded patina farm tractors always catch my attention. At Iowa State Bank & Trust Co., we have had our doors open since 1934. We’ve seen a lot of changes happen with community banking and farming in rural Iowa over the years. We’ve been here through the good and not so good times. We are merely a reflection of our past, present, and future customers.

– Russ McGee, VP Ag Lending

Mother’s Day

“Listen to your mother and wear your coat!” Today as I type this blog, it is 76 degrees, sunny and beautiful outside. The need for that winter jacket no longer exists and mothers can now be heard exclaiming springtime reminders to their children such as, “Don’t walk on my white carpet with your muddy shoes!”

As many around the bank have noticed, I don’t always wear a coat when I should in the winter, so the warm weather suits me well. The warmer temperatures also save the breaths of my kind and caring co-workers. You see, whenever I arrive without a coat, an echo can be heard. That echo is that of multiple bankers saying, “Jared, where is your coat? It is cold outside. You’re not doing as your mother taught you!”

As I type this banking blog, you might be wondering what jackets and reminders from Mom have to do with the financial world. Let me explain, it is pretty simple.

Our mothers give us reminders as youngsters because they care about us. The maternal nature is to provide an environment that makes it possible for a child to excel throughout life.

Iowa State Bank is filled with caring employees that have a deep desire for customers and coworkers to excel throughout their lives and accomplish their goals.

If you want to discover the nurturing environment of community banking at its best, stop by and visit with us. (The muddy carpet will clean up at the bank!)

This weekend we celebrate Mother’s Day. Don’t forget to honor those special women in your life!

– Jared Lyle, SVP/Senior Loan Officer

Answers from Aaron

There’s a bit of pressure to deliver when your Marketing Department creates a blog entitled “Answers From Aaron”. The title suggests that I possess a modicum of wisdom and credibility. However, I cannot convince an eight year old boy that “murder clowns” do not actually exist, nor would they live in his closet if they did. Thus the dilemma; what value can I possibly offer to readers, understanding the scope of my expertise is limited and may not encompass their specific areas of interest (such as “murder clowns”, which I obviously know nothing about).

If there’s one thing I do know about, its community banking, and hopefully anyone who takes time to read our blog shares an interest in it. Community banking should not be confused with investment banking on Wall Street, or other types of high finance. Community banking is much less glamorous, and much more honest. If you work the Google on an internet machine you’ll find a definition of community banking that is similar to this, “a locally owned and operated financial institution which tends to focus on the needs of individuals, small businesses and farmers. Lending decisions are made by people who live in the areas they serve and who understand the needs of their customers.” That accurately describes Iowa State Bank, but there’s certainly more to add.

I am frequently asked “What makes Iowa State Bank different than other banks?” Larger financial institutions, those with tens of billions of dollars in assets, often train their officers to provide a canned answer to that question. Typically those answers speak to the bank’s strength and size. As a community banker, my response varies slightly depending on how, when and why I’m asked. In general though, I respond by talking about the quality of people I work with and how much we care. That may seem cliché but I assure you it’s sincere. My colleagues and I are far from perfect, but we care deeply about our customers and the communities we serve. That caring translates to countless hours of volunteerism (thank you to Karl and Morae Metcalf for working at the Rotary Auction last night). It means we’ll take as much time as a business owner needs to work through a difficult situation or review a new business plan. Caring is also why you’ll hear us cheering loudly at high school sporting events (as Dena and Shawn Morrissey demonstrated yesterday by vocally supporting the FHS soccer team). It’s why we’re involved in economic development, support the fine arts, help those less fortunate… I’m sure you get the point. The difference is that we care a lot, and come to work every day ready to show it. If there ever comes a time that we don’t, I’ve failed and we’ll no longer be considered a “community bank”.

In closing, if you happen to run into Rowan Kness this spring, please assure him that there’s no such thing as “murder clowns”. Chances are you have more credibility on that subject than I do.

– Aaron Kness, President/CEO

Community Banking: Why It’s a Wonderful Life

Community Banking

As the seasons begin to change, and the holidays approach, our team at Iowa State Bank would like to share all the wonderful reasons we are grateful to be a community bank. Just like Mr. George Bailey, in the classic tale, It’s a Wonderful Life, we have found countless people and experiences that make our bank lucky to consider this community home:

It’s all About the People: Unlike the big banks of America, our small and locally-owned operation prides itself on putting our people first, making the success of our customers the bank’s number one priority. Just like the old Building and Loan, Iowa State Bank strives to help our customers make their home ownership dreams become a reality.

Growth Engine for Small Business: We succeed when you succeed. Just as George Bailey invested funds in Mr. Martini’s home and business, Iowa State Bank is here to offer advice and financing on your next home or commercial project. We want to help you and our hometown community grow, just like Bedford Falls.

Built on Long Lasting Relationships: The movie’s guardian Clarence, was a very wise man saying, “No man is a failure who has friends.” At Iowa State Bank we pride ourselves on not only helping our customers with their finances, but also building relationships with them as well. If you have a question on how to budget, which retirement plans to look at, or other money management inquiries, consider us your friendly neighborhood adviser!

Community Backed: Instead of being underwritten by Mr. Potter, or other national big banks, our institution is built directly upon the needs and wants of our community’s citizens. With no higher ups attempting to monopolize the town, our dedicated team of officers works to build up the community, and the men and women who call it home.

Employees Local Citizens: Just like George and Uncle Billy, Iowa State Bank is filled with fun and lovable characters. We take great pride in employing local citizens throughout our company, and helping them grow within the banking industry. If you’re looking for a new career, stop in and see if Iowa State Bank is right for you!

Get to know all of us at Iowa State Bank and discover how community banking can help you achieve a wonderful life. For everything from personal financing, to commercial lending, we have the perfect solution for you. Get started today and share your next financial goal with us, we’ll help you shoot for the moon!