Tag Archives: locally owned

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

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

Konnecting with Karl

I’ve had the pleasure to work with customers at Iowa State Bank now for almost 4 years in my capacity as the commercial lender. However, even many of my friends don’t really know what that means and still ask me what I really do.

Sure, I make loans for business owners and commercial endeavors, but that isn’t what I think is most descriptive of my role. Every industry has its own unique set of challenges and each business its own set of strengths and weaknesses. What I do is help our business customers understand the risks they face and properly manage those risks for the best possible financial outcome for their future.

How I go about this reminded me a little like how my wife, Morae, and I decided upon having children. We sat down and talked out all the risks, pros and cons, and what-ifs we might face. After becoming completely terrified of this prospect, we decided to start our family anyway.

In reality, we felt comfortable with all the risks because we understood how we would deal with them if/when they arise. It is similar when making large decisions in business such as making an investment in technology, inventory, or growing employees. What I enjoy most about my job is sitting down with my customers to discuss the decisions they face to help them better understand the benefits and risks associated with those decisions.

From there, my job is to apply that risk to a competitive financing plan that provides that customer the capital needed to grow their business, and therefore our local economy, one step in a positive direction. Over and over, this model keeps lending decisions local, risks local, and profits local. This is the value of banking with a locally owned bank, we grow together.

Nearly two years ago when Morae and I decided to start our family, we never fully realized how truly amazing it would be to have our son. In fact, often is the case when a developing business excels beyond what was expected. We are so elated that we decided to take the risk that we wish we had done it sooner. That’s why in September, we are expecting the second edition to our family!

I believe building a business is a part of building a community and I’m proud to build my family in the community where I was raised, helping other business owners achieve their success.

– Karl Metcalf, VP Commercial Lending

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