Who are ICBA's Top Lenders of 2023?

AGRICULTURE

Traditional relationships, new operations

By William Atkinson

As technology and regulations have evolved over time, so has agricultural lending.

“The ag lending landscape is constantly evolving, and therefore the customer needs change as well,” says Branden Logue, who is president and CEO of $285 million-asset Bath State Bank in Bath, Ind., as well as president of Bath State Bancorp and vice president of Bath Insurance Group. “The past couple of years have been very volatile in terms of fertilizer prices, chemicals prices, commodity prices, cash rents and interest rates.” 

Dan Schopp, president and CEO of $109 million-asset First Security Bank in Mackinaw, Ill., has also seen changes in ag lending. 

“The last two years have seen great prices and good net incomes, following five years of lower commodity prices and tight times,” he says. “Ag needs have changed with a need for larger lines of credit, because of increased acres per farmer and higher input costs.”

The difficult part for the typical farmer is that most changes in the ag lending landscape are out of their control, especially since prices have been affected by trade policy, war and the supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. “This makes it more difficult for a beginning farmer to compete with an established operation,” Logue says, “which can spread the costs of new purchases over more acres.”

In response, many community banks are turning to new methods to set their clients up for success. For $237 million-asset Heartland Bank, in Manson, Iowa, technological advances and consolidation of operations are changing the complexity of farming.

“Farmers are essentially CEOs of growing and complex operations,” says John S. Rosenboom, executive vice president. “Understanding how they manage their operation, current financials, break-evens and up-to-date cash flows are essential details that lenders need to understand in order to guide financial decisions that will impact their bottom line.”

Heartland Bank’s strategies also include utilizing industry schools, events, peer groups and webinars to learn more about agriculture, banking, and credit management. 

“We invest in software for underwriting credits and provide in-depth information and trendlines of farmers’ operations to work with them to achieve their goals,” says Rosenboom. “At the end of the day, we as banks all sell the same products for similar prices. Customer service, beneficial relationships and added value are what differentiate our team.”

Strong relationship banking

One reason for Bath State Bank’s success in ag lending is that the bank was built around ag lending, and its commitment has never wavered.  

“Our entire management team and ag department have farming roots and are still involved in some form of production agriculture today,” explains Logue. “We are bankers who enjoy getting out and visiting the operations and seeing how different producers operate, and building genuine relationships with our customers.”

The team at Heartland Bank spends a lot of their time visiting the farms and learning everything possible about the operations they are working with. “Our lenders keep informed and share information with their customers, which helps build trusting relationships that also lead to referrals down the road,” Rosenboom says.

Finding the right people

Similarly, Schopp points at First Security Bank’s efforts in developing knowledgeable and experienced lenders who understand their farm clients’ business as a key part of its successful ag lending.

“When we hire, we look for someone who understands agriculture, who has grown up around or been exposed to the ag sector of our economy,” he says. “We can teach them how to spread and analyze farm financials much easier when they already understand and can ‘talk the talk’ of agriculture.”

As for the future, Logue looks to Bath State Bank’s clientele. “We let customer needs drive the decisions to change or modify how we conduct ag lending,” he says. “We view ourselves as a tool for the farmers to use to maximize their success, and we are thankful to be a part of that.”

COMMERCIAL

Offering Consistency
in Inconsistent Times

By Mindy Charski

With rising interest rates and inflation on the move, the word “consistency” doesn’t have an easy association with the current banking environment.

Yet, consistency in various forms has helped three very different community banks excel at commercial lending. Below, they share some of their secrets of success.

1. Be a bank that customers can rely on

Central Texas is a diverse market in growth mode, which makes it a fabulous place to be a local lender. Jeff Wilkinson, chairman and chief executive officer of $800 million-asset Keystone Bank, jokes, “We’re in Austin, Texas. I don’t even think I can screw it up.”

But in truth, thriving requires the right ingredients. “You have to decide who you are, and you have to stick to that,” Wilkinson says. “You can’t keep changing and trying to think that you’re going to be all things to all people.”

Indeed, rather than seeking to do business with everyone, Keystone Bank largely targets entrepreneurs and business owners and operators with certain attributes. Among them: liquidity, a track record of success and a desire to build a relationship with local decision-makers.

For $7 billion-asset BankPlus in Ridgeland, Miss., maintaining “consistent relationships” even in a unique year has been critical, says executive vice president and chief lending officer Paul Howell. “We certainly want to be a prudent lender and are, but we want to meet the needs of our customers in all cycles,” he says. “We want to be a consistent partner for our customers, and I think that’s helped us grow over the past year.” 

Likewise, $3.4 billion-asset Five Star Bank in Rancho Cordova, Calif., has benefited from staying deeply ingrained in specific industries. The community bank lends to owners and operators of mobile home parks across the country, for instance, which represents about 30% of its business and was one of the bank’s biggest growth areas last year. Other niches include recreational vehicle (RV) parks, churches and storage facilities. 

“I think if you’re serving any particular niche, vertical or community, people have to know that you’re in it for the long run, that you’re not going to jump in and then jump out,” says James Beckwith, the bank’s president and chief executive officer. 

2. Always deliver a high level of service 

At Five Star Bank, which has a California footprint of seven full-banking offices and a loan production office, “speed to serve” is a cultural focus. “We’re a small bank. How are we going to outcompete the majors?” Beckwith says. “We have to do it more quickly and do it correctly and make the right credit decisions.” 

The second part of the bank’s mantra is “certainty of execution.” Customers seeking commercial real estate financing need to have confidence that a bank will be able to deliver a loan when it’s time to close, Beckwith says.

BankPlus cites culture as a priority in serving its clientele; it even has a chief culture officer. “We understand that we may have different jobs, but we’re all equally important to meeting our customers’ needs,” says Howell.

“Because if we don’t do that internally, our customers aren’t going to see what they need to see.” 

The bank strives to offer the same customer experience across its more than 90 locations in diverse markets in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama and Florida.

Meanwhile, at three-branch Keystone Bank, customers get the cell phone numbers of bankers, including Wilkinson’s. 

3. Provide reliable resources for new and small businesses

Keystone Bank offers its customers solutions for treasury management through its core provider and can plug in tools from partners for merchant services, payroll and human resources. “We can’t just sit here and say, ‘Well, we can only take a deposit and make a loan,’” says Wilkinson. “We’ve constantly got to be adding product that our customers need and want.” 

Five Star Bank’s treasury cash management products help it win new business, Beckwith says, adding, “Our offering in treasury cash management is usually superior to what [a borrower’s] incumbent bank is offering.”

A very different kind of resource has gained traction at BankPlus. In 2017, it launched The Source, a network of educational events for women in business where they can ask questions and receive advice from lending officers. 

Today, there are about 1,715 members, 669 of whom are BankPlus customers who are tied in some way to $29 million in loans and $31 million in deposits. 

Although correlating the initiative to dollar volumes is difficult, Howell eyes a long-term benefit. “When you help people start businesses, obviously some of those businesses are going to get bigger than others,” he says, “and it will provide an opportunity for loans and other banking products over time.”

CONSUMER/MORTGAGE

Managing the
Mortgage Markets

By William Atkinson

The past few years in the mortgage lending space have been tumultuous, to say the least. Between housing demand outpacing supply, sky-high prices and rising interest rates, community bank lenders have had to innovate to meet new challenges. Three community banks share their experience working in this changing market.

The Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod

With the limited housing inventory in The Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod’s market, coupled with more remote workers, many people have chosen to renovate their existing homes instead of selling their homes, says Shanika Rogowski, senior vice president and chief residential lending officer for the $1.5 billion-asset community bank in Hyannis, Mass.

Construction loans, equity loans and lines of credit have become very popular, especially among homeowners who have refinanced in the past few years, she says. These options allow homeowners the flexibility to improve their properties while being able to keep the low rate on their first lien mortgage.

The community bank has recognized a growing need for technology and high-level customer service, Rogowski says. “This shift has helped us to leverage digital platforms, allowing us to compete on a more global landscape.”

As a result of optimizing its digital platforms and implementing a hybrid/remote work culture, the bank has expanded its market area by hiring high-producing loan officers and adding quality support staff in areas where it previously had not been able to attract employee talent or customers. “We attribute 40% of our consumer/mortgage lending growth to this expansion plan,” she says.

The community bank offers a streamlined documentation-gathering process and integrated smart technology, reducing keystrokes for applications. Financial documentation can be uploaded during the application process at the click of a button, while disclosures and closing documents can be viewed and signed electronically with the Cooperative Bank’s new hybrid e-close process.

“Consumers expect quick response times, streamlined processes and a quick, convenient closing experience,” Rogowski says, “and we have been able to deliver on these expectations.”

Cullman Savings Bank

For $417 million-asset Cullman Savings Bank, in Cullman, Ala., the extended low-rate environment over the past few years created higher demand for new construction and existing home sales.

“This resulted in higher building costs and property values, thus changing the lending landscape,” says Matt Townson, senior vice president and chief lending officer. “Our customers were also able to take advantage of the housing market, either by accessing their equity from sales of property or refinancing in the low-rate environment.”

According to Townson, the community bank’s mortgage lending success is the result of holding 30-year mortgages in its portfolio, which most of its competitors do not do. “We are able to produce more loans and service more customers by offering this product,” he says.

“Our bank started in 1887 as a building and loan association, making loans to its members to build homes,” he adds. “We like to say, ‘Stick to what you know.’ We have the history and ability to do that in our area.”

Due to recent growth in Cullman Savings Bank’s area, it’s also been able to bolster its commercial lending. “The recent growth in our area has given us success in our commercial portfolio, and this has allowed us to be able to book mortgage and consumer loans a little more aggressively,” he says. “We’ve done this by offering very competitive rates.”

Community Bank Delaware

Community Bank Delaware in Lewes, Del., cites several keys to success in consumer and mortgage lending. “We offer competitive rates, personal service and quick turnaround,” says Chris Benjamin, senior vice president for the $311 million-asset community bank. “We treat the customer as a relationship, rather than a transaction. We also have products that most of the big banks don’t have.

“We have found that most people want to work with a lender that offers fair rates and knows the market,” he adds. “Our time from application to approval is also very important, and that is where community banks can shine. Borrowers appreciate not just being a number in an online portal.”

Community Bank Delaware offers a full menu of products that buyers look for: lot loans, single close construction loans and fixed-rate mortgages. “We also have good relationships with the builders in our area, which helps smooth out any construction loan issues,” Benjamin says.

Looking to the future, the bank is evaluating easier ways to exchange information. In fact, it has already implemented Citrix ShareFile, a secure portal for transfer of information.