Business Banking
Business banking is a key focus of our business model and is one of our core
competencies. We provide business banking services to small and mid-sized businesses
across a diverse range of industries, including key sectors supporting regional
growth such as ancillary agribusiness services (e.g., farm equipment suppliers
and grain and seed merchants), freight and transport, healthcare (e.g., hospitals,
physicians, care facilities and dentists) and tourism. We offer our business
banking customers a focused range of financial products designed to meet the
specific needs of their businesses, including loans, lines of credit, cash management
services, online business deposit and wire transfer services, in addition to
non-interest-bearing demand deposit and savings accounts and corporate credit
cards.
Our business banking model is based on a fundamental understanding of the communities
we serve and the banking needs of our customers. Our bank employs experienced
relationship bankers across our footprint, each of whom offers our bank’s
suite of business banking products and services to our customers. Our relationship
bankers strive to build deep, long-term customer relationships with our banking
customers and to understand our customers’ specific needs to identify
appropriate financial solutions.
Agribusiness Banking
In addition to business banking, we consider agribusiness lending one of our
core competencies. We have been providing banking services to the agricultural
community since our bank was founded in 1935. We have developed extensive expertise
and brand recognition in agribusiness lending (which is the largest single industry
that we serve). We provide loans and banking services to agribusiness customers
across our geographic footprint. We predominantly lend to grain and protein
producers who produce a range of agricultural commodities. Our agribusiness
customers range in size from small, family farms to large, commercial farming
operations.
Retail Banking
Retail banking provides a source of low-cost funds and deposit-related fee income.Our
branch network enhances our ability to gather deposits, expand our brand presence,
service our customers’ needs, originate loans and maintain our lending
relationships.
We offer traditional banking products to our retail customers, including non-interest-bearing
demand accounts, savings and money market accounts, individual retirement accounts,
or ("IRAs"), and time certificates of deposits. As the banking industry
continues to experience broader customer acceptance of online and mobile banking
tools for conducting basic banking functions and retail customers use branch
locations with less frequency than they have historically, we serve our customers
through a wide range of non-branch channels; including online, telephone and
mobile banking platforms. In addition, we continue to optimize our branch network
and have closed less profitable branches. We continue to strive to optimize
the effectiveness of our distribution channels and increase our operational
efficiency to adapt to increasing customer preferences for self-service banking
capabilities.
Wealth Management
We also provide our customers with a selection of wealth management solutions,
including financial planning, private banking, investment management and trust
services through associations with third party vendors, including a registered
broker-dealer and investment adviser. Our investment representatives offer our
customers investment management services through our branch network which entails
overseeing and recommending investment allocations between asset classes based
on a review of a client’s risk tolerance. These representatives also offer
and sell insurance solutions, including life insurance and offer trust services,
including personal trusts and estate planning.