Who were ICBA's Top Lenders of 2022?

Last year, community bank loan producers were faced with both record-low interest rates and a glut of deposits. But as they always do, they came through for individuals and businesses in their communities with a combination of personalized service and prudent risk management practices. Here, we highlight some of last year’s most successful loan producers in the areas of agriculture, commercial and consumer/mortgage lending.

July 01, 2022 / By Ed Avis

Methodology

Using FDIC data for 2021, we calculated a lender score out of 100 for each community bank. The score combines the average of the bank’s percentile rank for lending concentration and for loan growth over the past year in each lending category. We then adjusted each score for loan charge offs in each category at certain percentile thresholds.

AGRICULTURE

Ag lending in the South: Relationships matter

When the owners of a small family dairy asked The Peoples Bank in Marion, Ky., for funding to reopen the business after years of inactivity, chairman, president and CEO Terry L. Bunnell listened. He sensed the family’s passion and liked their idea of starting with selling milk at farmers’ markets, roadside shops and small grocery stores. Another bank might not have taken a chance on them, but The Peoples Bank did. That was about four years ago; today, the dairy is successful and growing.

The Peoples Bank

Marion, Ky.
Asset size: $114 million
Ag lender score: 90.74
Rank in category: 18

“We worked with them with loans to buy equipment and vehicles for delivery and the beginning operational cash needs of the business,” Bunnell says. “The passion they brought to the business is what we’re all about. We want to help people succeed and grow a business, help them accomplish what they’ve set out to do.” Bunnell’s relationship with the dairy owners is not unusual. He attributes the agricultural lending success of The Peoples Bank—a $114 million-asset institution with a loan portfolio that is about 25% ag related—to its one-on-one connections with borrowers. Those relationships show the borrowers that their bank cares about their businesses and wants to help them succeed. In return, those relationships help the bank grow.

“I believe you have to interact with your customers on a regular basis,” Bunnell says. “You’ve got to engage with them to understand their needs. I believe a mistake that is often made is that we assume all farming is the same, and it’s clearly not. Our customers have different needs, and we have different ways to solve those needs.”

Terry L. Bunnell of The Peoples Bank worked closely with Doug and Ally Jones of Legacy Dairy.

Close-knit relationships

Connections with borrowers has also played a key role in the success of $457 million-asset First Southern Bank in Florence, Ala. However, First Southern’s ag lending also benefited last year from the addition of three loan production offices, says Joe Beaver, the community bank’s president and CEO. The bank, which attributes 31% of its loan portfolio to agriculture, opened loan production offices (LPOs) in Mississippi, Florida and Alabama.

“We identified areas that we feel like are a good fit for us and what we do, and we identified the right lender in those areas,” Beaver explains. In each new market opened in 2021, the community bank found an experienced ag lender who was seeking a new position.

Another element to First Southern’s ag lending success is its robust crop insurance business. The bank provides crop insurance to farmers in 11 states.

“Being in the crop insurance business lends significantly to our understanding of ag lending,” Beaver says. “It also indirectly benefits our lending business. Because of our crop insurance business in Florida, I met an experienced ag lender, and circumstances worked out that we had an opportunity to bring him on board. And in New Albany, Miss., the person who led our crop insurance group had previous experience as a lender, and he moved back into that role when we opened the loan production office there.”

First Southern’s new LPOs have pumped up the community bank’s ag portfolio, but, like Bunnell, Beaver knows that it’s ultimately the relationships with farmers that lead to lending success.

“It’s about understanding what the farmers need, building those relationships, building that trust and standing by them when the times get tough,” he says.

Agriculture: Less than $300M in assets
Rank	Bank Name	City	State	Ag Lender Score
1	Red River State Bank	Halstad	MN	95.32
2	First State Bank	Randolph	NE	94.65
3	Security Bank Midwest	Chancellor	SD	94.61
4	Anchor State Bank	Anchor	IL	94.5
5	Prairie Sun Bank	Milan	MN	94.07
6	Bank of Lindsay	Lindsay	NE	93.22
7	First State Bank Minnesota	Le Roy	MN	93.2
8	Bank of Hartington	Hartington	NE	92.13
9	The Citizens State Bank and Trust Company	Council Grove	KS	92.06
10	The State Bank of Wynnewood	Wynnewood	OK	92.05
11	Lincoln State Bank	Hankinson	ND	91.73
12	Security Bank	Laurel	NE	91.47
13	State Bank of Bern	Bern	KS	91.42
14	Cedar Valley Bank & Trust	La Porte City	IA	91.21
15	Campbell County Bank	Herreid	SD	91.14
16	Metz Banking Company	Nevada	MO	91.08
17	Progressive Ozark Bank	Salem	MO	90.96
18	The Peoples Bank	Marion	KY	90.74
19	Silex Banking Company	Silex	MO	90.6
20	Horizon Financial Bank	Munich	ND	90.56

Agriculture: $300 million to $1 billion in assets
Rank	Bank Name	City	State	Ag Lender Score
1	NSB Bank	Mason City	IA	92.38
2	Iowa State Bank	Orange City	IA	92.28
3	BTC Bank	Bethany	MO	92.13
4	American Bank, National Association	Le Mars	IA	92.01
5	MBT Bank	Forest City	IA	91.38
6	First Southern Bank	Florence	AL	91.10
7	First State Bank	Buxton	ND	91.03
8	First Community Bank of the Heartland, Inc.	Clinton	KY	90.71
9	First FarmBank	Greeley	CO	90.53
10	Bank of Pontiac	Pontiac	IL	90.35
11	Green Belt Bank & Trust	Iowa Falls	IA	90.33
12	BankNorth	Arthur	ND	90.33
13	Classic Bank, National Association	Cameron	TX	89.96
14	United Prairie Bank	Mountain Lake	MN	89.86
15	PrimeBank	Le Mars	IA	89.61
16	Cattlemens Bank	Altus	OK	89.46
17	Stock Growers Bank	Forman	ND	89.43
18	Elkhorn Valley Bank & Trust	Norfolk	NE	89.21
19	Citizens Bank Minnesota	New Ulm	MD	88.81
20	Farmers and Merchants State Bank of Pierz	Pierz	MN	88.77

Agriculture: More than $1 billion in assets
Rank	Bank Name	City	State	Ag Lender Score
1	United Bank of Iowa	Ida Grove	IA	87.89
2	Wood & Huston Bank	Marshall	MO	87.37
3	Fidelity Bank & Trust	Dyersville	IA	84.36
4	Independence Bank	Havre	MT	83.75
5	The First National Bank In Sioux Falls	Sioux Falls	SD	83.20
6	Bravera Bank	Dickinson	ND	83.07
7	Southern Bancorp Bank	Little Rock	AR	82.78
8	Plumas Bank	Quincy	CA	81.80
9	First Bank of Berne	Bluffton	IN	81.59
10	Minnwest Bank	Redwood Falls	MN	80.86
11	CBI Bank & Trust	Muscatine	IA	80.66
12	Dakota Community Bank & Trust, National Association	Hebron	ND	79.36
13	Citizens Alliance Bank	Clara City	MN	78.86
14	Guaranty Bank & Trust, N.A.	Mount Pleasant	TX	78.15
15	Guaranty Bank and Trust Company	Belzoni	MS	78.10
16	OakStar Bank	Springfield	MO	77.95
17	PrimeSouth Bank	Blackshear	GA	77.55
18	American State Bank	Sioux Center	IA	77.46
19	Exchange Bank	Grand Island	NE	77.39
20	Vista Bank	Dallas	TX	77.26

Lead Bank takes the lead with, from L to R, president Greg Bynum; VP and associate general counsel Shakita Miller; EVP, general counsel and chief risk officer Julie Pine; CEO and vice chairman Joshua C. Rowland; and EVP and chief technology officer Mike Beattie. Photo by Steve Puppe

CONSUMER AND MORTGAGE

Helping consumers get ahead

One of the missions of Lead Bank in Lee’s Summit, Mo., is to help consumers who have difficulty accessing the financial system, especially those who have been historically marginalized. So, when the community bank’s leadership learned of a fintech that needed a bank partner to launch a credit-building tech product, they were intrigued.

Lead Bank

Lee’s Summit, Mo.
Asset size: $738 million
Consumer lender score: 96.6
Rank in category: 2

“Our CEO, Josh Rowland, went to a meeting of the Financial Health Network, an organization that helps consumers improve their financial health, and they said, ‘We should introduce you to this fintech who has this product and needs a partner,’” says Greg Bynum, president of the $738 million-asset bank.

That meeting four years ago led to the launch of Lead Bank’s Credit Builder Account program, which is accessed through an app developed by Self Financial, a fintech. Self Financial handles the technology, including access to online accounts and an app, as well as marketing aspects of the program, and Lead Bank provides the compliance and access to the banking system. It is available to consumers in all 50 states.

Why did this program help propel Lead Bank onto Independent Banker’s Top Lenders list? Because the Credit Builder Account program begins with a $1,000 loan to the consumer, which is deposited into a certificate of deposit at the community bank instead of being disbursed to the borrower. The borrower makes monthly payments over the course of 12 months. Assuming the borrower makes the payments on time, they end the year with an improved credit score and $1,000 in savings.

“In our four-year relationship with Self, we’ve helped in excess of a million consumers establish or improve their credit scores,” Bynum reports. “We’ve been really happy with it. It’s a way to help consumers get access to financial services in a financially responsible way. Some banks see fintechs as competitors, but if you can combine the strengths of the banking industry and the strengths of the fintech, it can really be a win-win.”

Two years ago, Lead Bank and Self expanded the program to include a secured credit card. Since the successful Credit Builder Account participants end the program with $1,000 in the bank, they have the cash to secure the card. More than 500,000 customers have received secured cards through the program.

At left, Lead Bank’s CEO and vice chairman Joshua C. Rowland with Greg Bynum, president. Photo by Steve Puppe

Taking the lead on financial literacy

Teaching people about wise money management is a key part of the Credit Builder Account program, Bynum says. “We do a lot of financial education to help consumers know what behaviors help their credit scores. For example, if their outstanding credit card balance gets above 30% of what’s available, that tends to hurt their credit score, so we send a little notice that says they may want to pay it down.”

Self and Lead Bank will probably add more banking products in the future, but they are not rushing things.

“We’re being very methodical about what products we introduce,” Bynum says. “We’re surveying consumers about what they need; that’s how we came up with the secured credit card. It’s important for us to do it in a financially responsible way so that we’re always helping the consumer develop good financial habits and improve their credit.”

Consumer/Mortgage: Less than $300M in assets
Rank	Bank Name	City	State	Consumer Lender Score
1	Citizens Guaranty Bank	Irvine	KY	94.06
2	The Miners National Bank of Eveleth	Eveleth	MN	93.72
3	First Security Bank of Deer Lodge	Deer Lodge	MT	93.39
4	The National Iron Bank	Salisbury	CT	93.37
5	The First National Bank of Gilbert	Gilbert	MN	93.35
6	Bank of Billings	Billings	MO	92.94
7	Second Federal Savings & Loan Association of Philadelphia	Philadelphia	PA	92.25
8	Bristol Morgan Bank	Oakfield	WI	92.01
9	Simmesport State Bank	Mansura	LA	91.74
10	Lowry State Bank	Lowry	MN	91.42
11	Eclipse Bank, Inc.	Louisville	KY	91.40
12	Collins State Bank	Collins	WI	90.94
13	Wrentham Co-operative Bank	Wrentham	MA	90.55
14	First Federal Savings and Loan Association	Aberdeen	MS	90.44
15	First Security Bank	Byron	MN	90.43
16	Wahoo State Bank	Wahoo	NE	90.41
17	Waterman Bank	Waterman	IL	90.38
18	Woodsfield Savings Bank	Woodsfield	OH	90.37
19	Citizens Bank of Morgantown, Inc.	Morgantown	WV	90.34
20	Bank of Holland	Holland	NY	90.04

Consumer/Mortgage: $300 million to $1 billion in assets
Rank	Bank Name	City	State	Consumer Lender Score
1	Quontic Bank	New York	NY	97.94
2	Lead Bank	Lee's Summit	MO	96.60
3	North Shore Bank of Commerce	Duluth	MN	96.03
4	First Central Savings Bank	Glen Cove	NY	94.25
5	Passumpsic Savings Bank	Saint Johnsbury	VT	92.25
6	The Garrett State Bank	Garrett	IN	91.96
7	Beacon Community Bank	Charleston	SC	91.43
8	First Bank	Burkburnett	TX	90.80
9	Bank of San Francisco	San Francisco	CA	90.73
10	Haverhill Bank	Haverhill	MA	90.53
11	First Capital Bank	Laurinburg	NC	90.39
12	Sullivan Bank	Sullivan	MO	89.51
13	Chickasaw Community Bank	Oklahoma City	OK	89.37
14	American National Bank of Minnesota	Brainerd	MN	89.04
15	First Savings Bank of Hegewis	Chicago	IL	88.20
16	Farmers State Bank	Cameron	MO	88.07
17	The Bank	Jennings	LA	87.81
18	1st Colonial Community Bank	Cherry Hill	NJ	87.67
19	1st National Bank of Scotia	Scotia	NY	87.04
20	First Federal Bank & Trust	Sheridan	WY	86.93

Consumer/Mortgage: More than $1 billion in assets
Rank	Bank Name	City	State	Consumer Lender Score
1	Metro City Bank	Doraville	GA	98.27
2	Northpointe Bank	Grand Rapids	MI	96.28
3	Martha's Vineyard Bank	Edgartown	MA	93.95
4	North Easton Savings Bank	South Easton	MA	92.70
5	MidFirst Bank	Oklahoma City	OK	91.91
6	Leader Bank, National Association	Arlington	MA	91.41
7	Kennebec Savings Bank	Augusta	ME	90.85
8	Main Street Bank	Marlborough	MA	90.69
9	The Lyons National Bank	Geneva	NY	89.28
10	TriState Capital Bank	Pittsburgh	PA	88.18
11	Bradesco BAC Florida Bank	Coral Gables	FL	87.71
12	Bell Bank	Fargo	ND	86.47
13	Southern First Bank	Greenville	SC	86.11
14	Blue Ridge Bank, National Association	Luray	VA	85.89
15	The Superior National Bank and Trust Company of Hancock	Hancock	MI	85.40
16	The Canandaigua National Bank and Trust Company	Canandaigua	NY	85.13
17	The Fidelity Deposit and Discount Bank	Dunmore	PA	85.05
18	Northway Bank	Berlin	NH	84.61
19	First Federal Savings Bank of Twin Falls	Twin Falls	ID	83.46
20	Anderson Brothers Bank	Mullins	SC	83.04

COMMERCIAL

A sweet spot for underserved commercial clients

“Doing well by doing good” could be the unofficial community banking motto. But in the case of $163 million-asset New Haven Bank, in New Haven, Conn., it is particularly apt. The community bank has succeeded while lending to nonprofits, mom-and-pop businesses and many other clients not well served by megabanks.

New Haven Bank

New Haven, Conn.
Asset size: $163 million
Commercial lender score: 90.00
Rank in category: 19

New Haven Bank is a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), meaning that at least 60% of its business must be conducted in low- to moderate-income areas. And it is the only locally owned bank in the city.

“We serve a market that the larger financial institutions really don’t serve well,” says Maureen Frank, the community bank’s president and CEO, adding that its average loan size is about $400,000. “We’ve really developed a sweet spot.”

She explains the bank has focused on serving New Haven’s underbanked community since it was launched in 2010 after a mutual savings bank in town went public and was absorbed by a larger institution.

“When that happened,” she recalls, “the former mayor of New Haven challenged the CEO of that institution to set aside funds so that a community bank with mission-driven objectives could be formed. So that’s where the capital to start New Haven Bank came from.”

L to R, New Haven Bank’s Tom Whitbread, William Hice, Maureen Frank, Iris Velazquez, Michael Aquilino and Richard Venditto focus on serving underbanked communities. Photo courtesy of New Haven Bank

PPP for the people

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was important to New Haven Bank’s success in 2020 and 2021. The community bank netted $32 million in loans those years, including about 200 loans in 2021 for $21 million.

“We lent to retailers, restaurants, nonprofits, small mom-and-pop stores, barber shops, beauty salons, day cares, churches … we did not turn anybody away,” Frank says. “We embraced the spirit of the PPP and handled anybody who came our way. More than half of our loans were to noncustomers.” She says that a third of the noncustomers commented that their current bank at the time either would not give them a PPP loan or would not help them with the process. In contrast, New Haven Bank expended energy making sure all of them were served.

“We spent a lot of time with small businesses whose finances might not have been very sophisticated,” Frank says. “For some of them, their payroll was just a checkbook register.”

Attention to detail

That kind of close attention is part of the community bank’s normal routine. For example, to better serve nonprofit clients, New Haven Bank works to understand the business models and funding sources of each. That diligence pays off: Frank says the bank has not had to deal with any delinquent loans among its nonprofit clients.

The future looks bright enough that New Haven Bank is currently seeking locations in two nearby towns, West Haven and Hamden.

“We’re excited about expanding,” Frank says. “We’re one of the very few banks that received a charter after the financial collapse in 2008, and we’re still going. Any de novo is a challenge, but it’s been rewarding, and I think we’ve helped a lot of people and hope to continue to do that as we grow.”

Commercial: Less than $300M in assets
Rank	Bank Name	City	State	Consumer Lender Score
1	Barwick Banking Company	Barwick	GA	99.54
2	State Bank	Rock Springs	WY	98.55
3	California International Bank, N.A.	Westminster	CA	96.09
4	Kendall Bank	Valley Falls	KS	96.00
5	United Bank of Philadelphia	Philadelphia	PA	95.83
6	PeopleFirst Bank	Joliet	IL	95.57
7	CapTex Bank, National Association	Trenton	TX	94.41
8	Unity National Bank	Houston	TX	94.07
9	The Home Savings And Loan Company of Kenton, Ohio	Kenton	KY	93.52
10	North Valley Bank	Denver	CO	92.87
11	American Bank of Beaver Dam	Beaver Dam	WI	92.82
12	SouthernTrust Bank	Goreville	IL	92.82
13	Embassy National Bank	Lawrenceville	GA	92.00
14	Southern Bank	Sardis	GA	91.59
15	BCBank, Inc.	Philippi	WV	91.45
16	FMS Bank	Fort Morgan	CO	91.27
17	Eagle Bank	Polson	MT	90.93
18	First Colorado National Bank	Paonia	CO	90.45
19	New Haven Bank	New Haven	CT	90.00
20	Ergo Bank	Markesan	WI	89.66

Commercial: $300 million to $1 billion in assets
Rank	Bank Name	City	State	Consumer Lender Score
1	MRV Banks	Sainte Genevieve	MO	97.87
2	Quaint Oak Bank	Southampton	PA	97.74
3	Flagship Bank	Clearwater	FL	96.82
4	Crown Bank	Edina	MN	96.30
5	Dundee Bank	Omaha	NE	95.72
6	Asian Bank	Philadelphia	PA	95.35
7	SouthPoint Bank	Birmingham	AL	94.89
8	Falcon National Bank	Saint Cloud	MN	94.71
9	American State Bank	Arp	TX	93.88
10	Simply Bank	Dayton	TN	93.69
11	OptimumBank	Ft. Lauderdale	FL	93.32
12	Greenwoods State Bank	Lake Mills	WI	93.25
13	Plains State Bank	Humble	TX	93.07
14	Bank3	Memphis	TN	92.83
15	Prime Alliance Bank	Woods Cross	IL	92.68
16	Mechanics & Farmers Bank	Durham	NC	92.49
17	Bank of Wisconsin Dells	Wisconsin Dells	WI	92.21
18	Texas Heritage National Bank	Daingerfield	TX	92.02
19	CommerceOne Bank	Birmingham	AL	91.48
20	First IC Bank	Doraville	GA	91.30

Commercial: More than $1 billion in assets
Rank	Bank Name	City	State	Consumer Lender Score
1	State Bank of Texas	Dallas	TX	97.34
2	Cogent Bank	Orlando	FL	96.97
3	CFG Community Bank	Baltimore	MA	96.44
4	Encore Bank	Little Rock	AR	96.34
5	Poppy Bank	Santa Rosa	CA	96.19
6	MVB Bank, Inc.	Fairmont	WV	94.15
7	Forbright Bank	Chevy Chase	MD	94.11
8	Bankwell Bank	New Canaan	CT	93.97
9	Woori America Bank	New York	NY	93.23
10	Pacific National Bank	Miami	FL	92.96
11	TriState Capital Bank	Pittsburgh	PA	92.10
12	Southern States Bank	Anniston	AL	91.67
13	One Community Bank	Oregon	WI	91.35
14	Metropolitan Commercial Bank	New York	NY	90.63
15	Summit Community Bank, Inc.	Moorefield	WV	90.47
16	Transportation Alliance Bank, Inc.	Ogden	UT	89.78
17	Israel Discount Bank of New York	New York	NY	89.75
18	Park State Bank	Duluth	MN	89.21
19	Blue Ridge Bank, National Association	Luray	VA	88.83
20	Central Bank	Storm Lake	IA	88.22

Ed Avis is a writer in Illinois.

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