ICBA`s top-performIng CommunIty BAnks stooD tALL through the

The
ICBA
400
ICBA’s top-performing community banks
STOOD TALL through the recession
By Apryl Motley
20
Saluting the
ICBA 400
A
s part of year-end performance rankings of
ICBA members, ICBA
Independent Banker every year
pulls call-report data from the
FDIC to identify the top community banks as measured by
return on average assets (ROA)
and return on average equity
(ROE).
The ICBA 400 list highlights the
top 20 community bank performers in 20 asset and taxstatus categories. To allow for
the most equitable peer-to-peer
comparisons, top-performing
ICBA members are grouped by
their Subchapter S corporation
or Subchapter C corporation taxfiling status. Those groupings are
further separated into five asset
categories: banks with assets of
$50 million or less; $50 million
to $100 million; $100 million
to $250 million; $250 million
to $500 million; and more than
$500 million.
ICBA congratulates all the community banks that earned their
way onto the ranks of its ICBA
400 top-20 industry performers
for 2009. See pages 26 through
34 for the lists.
All community banks listed were
formed before 2009 and were
ICBA members as of March 31,
2010.
21
W
hen downsizing and costcutting have become the
management strategies du jour,
leaders of the ICBA 400 top-performing banks of 2009 will own
up to only a little belt-tightening.
Cutting costs wasn’t their primary
strategy for maintaining—or even
improving—their bottom lines
during last year’s severe financial
downturn.
“We haven’t been aggressive in
cutting expenses,” says Robert S.
Touchette, executive vice president and COO of $186 millionasset City Savings Bank & Trust
Co. in Derider, La. “We’ve focused
on growth: gaining market share
and generating revenue.” With
seven branches and 76 employees,
the community bank is “the economic engine of this community,”
says City Savings Bank President
and CEO Glen D. Bertrand. “So
what we put forth in the community is what’s going to happen.”
A similar philosophy drives
the management team at $180
million-asset Treynor State Bank
22 ICBA IndependentBanker June 2010
“How efficient we are is a
combination of many people
doing many small things well
consistently over a period of
time.”
— J o e F r a m p t o n , Pa d u c a h B a n k
& Tru s t, Pa d u c a h , Ky.
in Treynor, Iowa. Currently, the
family-owned community bank
has three branches and 45 fulltime-equivalent staff positions,
including in its trust and insurance departments. “We want to
have more locations, more business development and more
education for employees,” says
President and CFO Josh Guttau.
“Our focus is on growth and revenue generation, not cost-cutting.”
Fellow Iowan Scott Currie,
president of $25 million-asset
State Bank of Schaller, believes
that “not being heavily loaned
up and having investments with
longer relative durations” continues to work in his community
bank’s favor. He also credits his
staff of seven for the bank’s continued success. “One thing that
helps us is our lack of turnover,”
Currie says. “We only have one
employee who’s been here less
than 10 years. With that kind
of continuity, your operation
becomes more efficient.”
Joe Framptom, CEO of $503
million-asset Paducah Bank &
Trust in Paducah, Ky., agrees that
having a great team of people
contributes significantly to efficiency. “All of our employees have
a stake in the bank. They make
decisions on a daily basis that
have a positive long-term impact,”
Framptom says. “How efficient
we are is a combination of many
people doing many small things
well consistently over a period
of time.” Paducah Bank has
five locations and 139 employees. “We concentrate on taking
care of people,” Framptom adds.
“And that translates into financial
results.”
At Burke & Herbert Bank &
Trust Co. in Alexandria, Va., succeeding in business has been and
always will be about taking care of
people. “Our reputation has been
built on solid, attentive, caring
personal banking, whether you
are a consumer or commercial
customer,” says the community
bank’s president and COO, W.
Scott McSween. And the bank is
willing to invest in maintaining
that reputation.
Three months ago, Burke &
Herbert Bank announced to customers and new prospects that it
will pay their foreign-bank ATM
transaction fees. “It’s part of our
long-term marketing strategy of
making it more convenient for
customers to do business with
us,” says E. Hunt Burke, the bank’s
chairman and CEO. “We recognize that we have to show our
customers that they can have it all
at Burke & Herbert.”
Manage Processes—
Not Expenses
According to Mark Stenson, president of
Stenson Management Consulting in Marshall,
Minn., creating strategies for revenue growth
is critical, but improving your community
bank’s bottom-line performance starts with
improving and managing internal processes.
Stenson recommends the following steps to
help you prioritize process management:
Track volumes. Use income statements,
balance sheets and activity reports to
assess productivity, anticipate changes and
respond to challenges.
Measure quality. Create systems that
evaluate employee performance based on
quantifiable results rather than on intangibles like “attitude.”
Burke’s sentiment was shared
in various ways by other leaders
of the ICBA 400 top-performing
community banks of 2009. They
are determined to have it all:
efficient operations and satisfied
customers and employees. As a
whole, this year’s annual performance rankings show that many
independent community banks
are doing well by doing more.
Measure and manage
According to Mark Stenson, president of Marshall, Minn.-based
Stenson Management Consulting
and a longtime ICBA education instructor, most community banks should be focused on
resource allocation rather than
cost efficiencies and on managing processes instead of managing expenses. “Many banks really
24 ICBA IndependentBanker June 2010
Eliminate processes. Some processes
cannot be improved with tweaks or more
oversight. Don’t be afraid to eliminate inefficient procedures and start over.
Expand cross-training. In too many banks,
15 to 20 percent of employees shoulder
the bulk of the workload. All employees
should be comfortable working in different
functions and across departments.
Reward performance; celebrate success. Use volume tracking and quality measurements to gauge individual,
departmental and organizationwide
contributions. Recognize sales (for
example, loan-volume goals) and service
(for example, beating a deadline) achievements and milestones.
haven’t managed their processes
effectively,” Stenson says. “They
don’t have measurements in place
for monitoring the volume and
accuracy of activities, and you
can’t manage until you measure.”
To illustrate his point, Stenson
cites the example of wire transfers:
“Have we seen a drop in this area
due to the economy? Are we at
full capacity? If we’re not, what
are we doing about it? If you’re
not asking these kinds of questions, then you’re not managing
“We want to make sure
that we’re using our profits
wisely to sow seeds for the
future during years when
things may not be as good.”
— E . Hu n t B u r k e , B u r k e &
H e r b e r t B a n k , A l e x a n d r i a , Va .
resources properly. Efficiency is
about taking apart all aspects of
the bank and trying to get metrics
in place.”
Burke acknowledges that his
158-year-old community bank
has “some cobwebs that need to
be cleaned out.” To do that, “we’re
taking a good look at ourselves to
see where we can be more efficient in our operations, which in
some cases has led to our spending more on technology and marketing,” he says. Most recently,
Burke & Herbert Bank engaged
consultants to look at whether its
staffing levels are appropriate at
certain hours of the day.
“What’s usually very difficult
for most business people is stepping back and asking, ‘Why do
continued on page 28
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Customer & Channel Management
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Insights & Optimization
ROA Subchapter S Banks — Less than $50 Million Assets
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
9
11
11
13
14
15
16
17
17
19
20
Institution Name
City, State
ROA
The Peoples State Bank
The First Farmers National Bank of Waurika
Frontier Bank
The Bank of Rison
First State Bank
Lusk State Bank
Farmers State Bank
The Citizens State Bank of Cheney, Kansas
Peoples State Bank
Bank of Rothville
First Security Bank of Roundup
Drayton State Bank
Welcome State Bank
Altura State Bank
Home State Bank
Clarkson Bank
Bank of Prague
Nebraska State Bank
State Bank
The Cowboy Bank
Cherryvale, KS
Waurika, OK
Davenport, NE
Rison, AR
Watonga, OK
Lusk, WY
Hosmer, SD
Cheney, KS
Summit, SD
Rothville, MO
Roundup, MT
Drayton, ND
Welcome, MN
Altura, MN
Royal, IA
Clarkson, NE
Prague, NE
Oshkosh, NE
Gresham, WI
Maypearl, TX
4.08
2.93
2.76
2.39
2.24
2.23
2.17
2.13
2.11
2.11
2.08
2.08
2.07
2.05
2.02
1.99
1.97
1.97
1.93
1.91
The
ICBA
400
Institution Name
City, State
ROA
Corydon State Bank
Peoples State Bank
Farmers and Merchants Bank of Kendall
The City National Bank of Colorado City
Security State Bank
Solon State Bank
State Bank of New Richland
The State Bank of Wynnewood
The First National Bank of Stigler
The Farmers Bank
Union Bank & Trust Co.
Westside State Bank
Wells Bank of Platte City
First Valley Bank
The Farmers and Merchants National Bank of Fairview
Kaplan State Bank
Cleo State Bank
Farmers and Merchants State Bank
Wilburton State Bank
Sargent County Bank
Corydon, IA
Rocksprings, TX
Kendall, WI
Colorado City, TX
Ansley, NE
Solon, IA
New Richland, MN
Wynnewood, OK
Stigler, OK
Carnegie, OK
Livingston, TN
Halbur, IA
Platte City, MO
Seeley Lake, MT
Fairview, OK
Kaplan, LA
Cleo Springs, OK
Plankinton, SD
Wilburton, OK
Forman, ND
3.07
2.74
2.73
2.71
2.62
2.50
2.48
2.33
2.33
2.33
2.31
2.26
2.25
2.24
2.23
2.23
2.22
2.19
2.18
2.17
ROA Subchapter S Banks — $100–250 Million Assets
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
8
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
17
19
19
Institution Name
City, State
ROA
Central Bank and Trust
Central Bank of Kansas City
First National Bank of Picayune
Peoples Community State Bank
First Bank, Upper Michigan
Muenster State Bank
Pearland State Bank
The Bank
The National Bank of Andrews
Montrose Bank
First National Bank of Alvin
Unico Bank
Welch State Bank
Drummond Community Bank
City Savings Bank & Trust Co.
Lamar Bank and Trust Co.
City Bank & Trust Co.
First State Bank of Burnet
The Bank of Advance
The Central National Bank of Poteau
Lander, WY
Kansas City, MO
Picayune, MS
Doniphan, MO
Gladstone, MI
Muenster, TX
Pearland, TX
Oberlin, KS
Andrews, TX
Montrose, CO
Alvin, TX
Irondale, MO
Welch, OK
Chiefland, FL
Deridder, LA
Lamar, MO
Natchitoches, LA
Burnet, TX
Advance, MO
Poteau, OK
8.22
3.78
2.59
2.57
2.55
2.53
2.45
2.43
2.43
2.42
2.41
2.40
2.35
2.31
2.28
2.23
2.21
2.21
2.15
2.15
26 ICBA IndependentBanker June 2010
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Institution Name
City, State
ROA
Frontier Bank
Lusk State Bank
Peoples State Bank
Nebraska State Bank
Community State Bank
The Buffalo Ridge Bank
Western National Bank
Prairie Sun Bank
The Cowboy Bank
Liberty State Bank
Farmers State Bank
First State Bank
Welcome State Bank
Farmers National Bank of Griggsville
The Bank of Whitewater
First Security Bank of Roundup
Little River Bank
Drayton State Bank
Citizens State Bank of Glenville
American State Bank of Grygla
Davenport, NE
Lusk, WY
Summit, SD
Oshkosh, NE
Hennessey, OK
Beardsley, MN
Cass Lake, MN
Milan, MN
Maypearl, TX
Powers Lake, ND
Allen, OK
Watonga, OK
Welcome, MN
Griggsville, IL
Whitewater, KS
Roundup, MT
Lepanto, AR
Drayton, ND
Glenville, MN
Grygla, MN
27.95
25.86
23.53
22.15
21.56
20.80
20.66
20.58
20.52
19.95
19.59
19.57
19.44
18.10
18.04
17.98
17.96
17.91
17.26
17.09
ROE Subchapter S Banks — $50–100 Million Assets
ROA Subchapter S Banks — $50–100 Million Assets
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
8
8
11
12
13
14
15
15
17
18
19
20
ROE Subchapter S Banks — Less than $50 Million Assets
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
12
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Institution Name
City, State
ROA
State Bank of New Richland
Security State Bank
Wilburton State Bank
Bank of Dade
Wells Bank of Platte City
The First National Bank of Stigler
Farmers and Merchants Bank of Kendall
First Valley Bank
Bank Northwest
Peoples Bank & Trust Co.
Westside State Bank
Farmers and Merchants State Bank
The Farmers Bank
Union Bank & Trust Co.
Security State Bank
The City National Bank of Colorado City
Brunswick State Bank
Farmers and Merchants State Bank of Blooming Prairie
State Bank of Kimball
Citizens State Bank
New Richland, MN
Ansley, NE
Wilburton, OK
Trenton, GA
Platte City, MO
Stigler, OK
Kendall, WI
Seeley Lake, MT
Hamilton, MO
Owenton, KY
Halbur, IA
Plankinton, SD
Carnegie, OK
Livingston, TN
Sutherland, IA
Colorado City, TX
Brunswick, NE
Blooming Prairie, MN
Kimball, MN
Miles, TX
33.43
33.29
29.89
28.87
27.86
27.37
27.11
26.40
24.40
23.46
23.04
23.03
23.03
23.00
22.49
22.32
22.08
22.02
21.39
21.20
ROE Subchapter S Banks — $100–250 Million Assets
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
14
16
17
18
19
20
Institution Name
City, State
ROA
Central Bank and Trust
Central Bank of Kansas City
Community Bank
Welch State Bank
Unico Bank
The Carlsbad National Bank
Delta Bank
First National Bank of Picayune
The First State Bank
Montrose Bank
City Bank & Trust Co.
Peoples Bank
The Union Bank of Mena
The National Bank of Andrews
Valley Bank of Commerce
The Bank
Bank of Montgomery
First National Bank
Lamar Bank and Trust Co.
Four Corners Community Bank
Lander, WY
Kansas City, MO
Longview, TX
Welch, OK
Irondale, MO
Carlsbad, NM
Vidalia, LA
Picayune, MS
Louise, TX
Montrose, CO
Natchitoches, LA
Paris, TX
Mena, AR
Andrews, TX
Roswell, NM
Oberlin, KS
Montgomery, LA
Ruston, LA
Lamar, MO
Farmington, NM
83.91
32.12
31.14
30.40
28.92
27.37
26.11
24.74
24.68
24.58
24.48
24.36
24.30
24.29
24.29
24.14
23.75
23.66
23.37
23.21
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ROA Subchapter S Banks — $250–500 Million Assets
1
2
3
4
5
5
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
18
20
Institution Name
City, State
ROA
Benchmark Bank
Texas Bank
Citizens Bank of Las Cruces
First National Bank & Trust Co. of McAlester
Quail Creek Bank, N.A.
St. Martin Bank and Trust Co.
Western Commerce Bank
First Bank of Berne
Community Bank of Louisiana
The First National Bank of Albany
First Fidelity Bank
First National Bank in Alamogordo
The Paducah Bank and Trust Co.
Pioneer Bank & Trust
The Converse County Bank
Phelps County Bank
Town & Country Bank
Fidelity National Bank
The Yellowstone Bank
The Harvard State Bank
Plano, TX
Brownwood, TX
Las Cruces, NM
McAlester, OK
Oklahoma City, OK
Saint Martinville, LA
Carlsbad, NM
Berne, IN
Mansfield, LA
Albany, TX
Burke, SD
Alamogordo, NM
Paducah, KY
Spearfish, SD
Douglas, WY
Rolla, MO
Salem, MO
West Memphis, AR
Laurel, MT
Harvard, IL
3.22
2.92
2.44
2.38
2.29
2.29
2.27
2.20
2.15
2.13
2.11
2.10
2.08
2.01
1.97
1.83
1.80
1.75
1.75
1.74
ROA Subchapter S Banks — More than $500 Million Assets
The
ICBA
400
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
10
12
12
14
14
16
17
17
19
20
Institution Name
City, State
ROA
Stearns Bank, N.A.
Crown Bank
Woodforest National Bank
Frontier State Bank
The Citizens Bank
First National Bank Texas
First American Bank
Citizens National Bank of Texas
Bank of the West
Amarillo National Bank
First Financial Bank
United Bank of Iowa
Pinnacle Bank
Stockman Bank of Montana
Pinnacle Bank - Wyoming
The First National Bank of Bemidji
Security National Bank of Omaha
Morton Community Bank
Heartland Bank and Trust Co.
Guaranty Bond Bank
Saint Cloud, MN
Brick, NJ
Houston, TX
Oklahoma City, OK
Farmington, NM
Killeen, TX
Artesia, NM
Waxahachie, TX
El Paso, TX
Amarillo, TX
El Dorado, AR
Ida Grove, IA
Lincoln, NE
Miles City, MT
Torrington, WY
Bemidji, MN
Omaha, NE
Morton, IL
Bloomington, IL
Mount Pleasant, TX
3.56
3.06
2.94
2.66
2.28
2.23
2.13
2.02
1.91
1.90
1.90
1.81
1.81
1.80
1.80
1.75
1.72
1.72
1.71
1.67
continued from page 24
we do it that way?’” McSween
says. “Is there a better way? It’s
important to think about this in
two ways: Can it be done more
efficiently and how might that
impact customer service.”
Keeping customer service constant was a primary consideration
when City Savings Bank made
the tough decision to change
its data-processing vendor. Two
years ago the bank merged with
two other community banks that
28 ICBA IndependentBanker June 2010
ROE Subchapter S Banks — $250–500 Million Assets
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
12
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Institution Name
City, State
ROA
Benchmark Bank
Texas Bank
Citizens Bank of Las Cruces
Quail Creek Bank, N.A.
First Bank of Berne
Community Bank of Louisiana
Western Commerce Bank
The First National Bank of Albany
The Paducah Bank and Trust Co.
Phelps County Bank
The Converse County Bank
First National Bank of Central Texas
American State Bank & Trust Co. of Williston
St. Martin Bank and Trust Co.
The Bank, N.A.
Pioneer Bank & Trust
First Fidelity Bank
First National Bank & Trust Co. of McAlester
Community Bank
Dakota Community Bank, N.A.
Plano, TX
Brownwood, TX
Las Cruces, NM
Oklahoma City, OK
Berne, IN
Mansfield, LA
Carlsbad, NM
Albany, TX
Paducah, KY
Rolla, MO
Douglas, WY
Waco, TX
Williston, ND
Saint Martinville, LA
McAlester, OK
Spearfish, SD
Burke, SD
McAlester, OK
Fort Worth, TX
Hebron, ND
37.42
31.22
27.77
26.80
23.93
23.83
23.34
22.78
22.61
22.38
22.22
21.08
21.08
19.68
19.37
19.19
19.10
19.01
18.87
18.82
ROE Subchapter S Banks — More than $500 Million Assets
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Institution Name
City, State
ROA
Woodforest National Bank
The Citizens Bank
First National Bank Texas
First American Bank
Frontier State Bank
Crown Bank
Bank of the West
Stearns Bank, N.A.
First Financial Bank
Guaranty Bond Bank
Amarillo National Bank
Pinnacle Bank - Wyoming
Citizens National Bank of Texas
The Citizens National Bank of Bluffton
Morton Community Bank
United Bank of Iowa
Pinnacle Bank
Stockman Bank of Montana
Security National Bank of Omaha
The First National Bank of Santa Fe
Houston, TX
Farmington, NM
Killeen, TX
Artesia, NM
Oklahoma City, OK
Brick, NJ
El Paso, TX
Saint Cloud, MN
El Dorado, AR
Mount Pleasant, TX
Amarillo, TX
Torrington, WY
Waxahachie, TX
Bluffton, OH
Morton, IL
Ida Grove, IA
Lincoln, NE
Miles City, MT
Omaha, NE
Santa Fe, NM
30.46
27.36
27.06
26.80
26.52
23.19
22.70
22.11
21.38
21.26
21.10
21.04
20.90
20.83
20.63
20.34
19.21
17.66
17.54
16.52
were part of a co-op for data processing. “Becoming a part of the
co-op could save us as much as
$200,000,” Bertrand says.
Treynor State also evaluated
various operations with particular
focus on tightening risk-review
processes. Traditionally, senior
loan officer and chief credit officer were one job, but this year the
community bank created a new
credit risk manager position and
a new team of credit risk analysts.
“We want to get ahead of any
problems,” Guttau says.
These examples illustrate topperforming community banks
taking measured approaches to
changing their operations. In
some instances, postponing decisions can be better in the long
run. Such was the case with State
Bank of Schaller’s conversion to
check imaging in 2008. From
Currie’s perspective, the technology became more affordable for
the bank over time, and “because
we’re small, there wouldn’t have
been much cost savings by doing
it sooner than we did.”
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Explore our online Knowledge Center, make plans to hear one of our experts at the above industry events, or contact us
todayat800-356-9099orsales@profitstars.com.
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Ratios
on
the
Rebound
As the economy begins to recover, there
are signs of improvement in overall industry performance. Industrywide average
return on assets (ROA) increased slightly
in 2009, from 0.03 percent in 2008 to
0.09 percent. This is still well below the
average ROA of 0.81 percent in 2007 and
1.28 percent in 2006.
Community banks with less than $100
million in assets fared best, with an
average ROA of 0.25 percent in 2009. In
contrast, larger institutions with assets
between $1 billion and $10 billion in
assets posted an average ROA of minus
0.30 percent.
Similarly, industrywide average return
on equity (ROE) increased slightly from
0.79 in 2008 to 0.90 percent. However,
in contrast to their year-end ROA figures,
community banks with less than $100
million in assets posted an average ROE
of only 0.13 percent in 2009, while banks
with greater than $10 billion in assets
posted an average ROE of 1.56 percent.
Source: FDIC Quarterly Banking Profile – 2010, Vol.
4, No. 1, and 2009, Vol. 3, No. 1
People and purpose
Probably the most difficult decisions any business makes in an
economic downturn involve
people. Although employee compensation and benefits are among
all community banks’ largest
expenses, typically they are reluctant to reduce staff or employee
benefits.
“There are a lot of other areas
that I would look to cut first,”
Guttau says. “Employees are an
investment and not an expense.
We could probably cut 10 percent of the staff right now and
be fine in the short term, but we
plan to grow.” Guttau’s father and
Treynor State Bank’s chairman
and CEO, Mick Guttau, concurs:
“The troops come first. We’ve
done a good job of communicating that they’re secure in their
jobs, and this has been a real
motivator for employees.”
“Employees are an
investment not
an expense. We
could probably
cut 10 percent
of the staff right
now and be fine
in the short
term, but we
plan to grow.”
— J o s h G u t tau ,
Tr e y n o r S tat e B a n k ,
Tr e y n o r , I o wa
It’s likely that employees also
feel secure in the knowledge that
Treynor State Bank continues to
invest in their professional development. This year the bank is
budgeted to spend $3,500 per
full-time-equivalent staff position
on training as opposed to $2,000
continued on page 34
30 ICBA IndependentBanker June 2010
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•
TEC H N O LOg Y SE RVICE S
ROA Subchapter C Banks — Less than $50 Million Assets
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
7
7
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Institution Name
City, State
ROA
State Bank of Schaller
State Bank of Scotia
Bank of Paxton
Benton County State Bank
First State Bank of Saint Peter
Washita Valley Bank
The Santa Anna National Bank
Bank of Marquette
The Hershey State Bank
Hiawatha National Bank
Ipswich State Bank
Garfield County Bank
First State Bank of Wilton
Chambers State Bank
Gates Banking and Trust Co.
Southwest National Bank
Montrose Savings Bank
The First State Bank of Ransom
The First State Bank
First State Bank in Temple
Schaller, IA
Scotia, NE
Paxton, NE
Blairstown, IA
Saint Peter, IL
Fort Cobb, OK
Santa Anna, TX
Marquette, NE
Hershey, NE
Hager City, WI
Ipswich, SD
Jordan, MT
Wilton, ND
Chambers, NE
Gates, TN
Weatherford, OK
Montrose, MO
Ransom, KS
Kiowa, KS
Temple, OK
1.91
1.77
1.63
1.52
1.49
1.45
1.43
1.43
1.43
1.42
1.40
1.39
1.34
1.31
1.30
1.29
1.26
1.25
1.23
1.22
ROA Subchapter C Banks — $50–100 Million Assets
The
ICBA
400
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
11
13
14
14
16
17
17
19
20
Institution Name
City, State
ROA
Commercial State Bank
The State Exchange Bank
The Citizen’s State Bank of Choteau, Montana
The First State Bank of Shelby
The Farmers Bank
Community Bank
Peoples-Webster County Bank
The Ottoville Bank Co.
Piggott State Bank
Farmers State Bank
Bank of Cairo and Moberly
First New Mexico Bank of Silver City
Citizens Savings Bank
The First National Bank of Fairfield
Atkins Savings Bank & Trust
Farmers & Merchants State Bank
Greensburg State Bank
Richardson County Bank & Trust Co.
Security State Bank of Wewoka, Oklahoma
Leitchfield Deposit Bank & Trust Co.
Republican City, NE
Lamont, OK
Choteau, MT
Shelby, MT
Hardinsburg, KY
Bristow, OK
Red Cloud, NE
Ottoville, OH
Piggott, AR
Hillsboro, WI
Moberly, MO
Silver City, NM
Spillville, IA
Fairfield, MT
Atkins, IA
Iroquois, SD
Greensburg, KS
Falls City, NE
Wewoka, OK
Leitchfield, KY
1.97
1.92
1.77
1.76
1.75
1.68
1.63
1.54
1.51
1.49
1.45
1.45
1.43
1.42
1.42
1.41
1.37
1.37
1.36
1.35
Institution Name
City, State
ROA
State Bank of Schaller
The Bank of Wyandotte
Progressive National Bank of Desoto Parish
Grapeland State Bank
Hiawatha National Bank
Farmers National Bank of Newcastle
Gates Banking and Trust Co.
First State Bank of Wilton
Bank of Paxton
Farmers and Merchants Bank
The Commercial Bank
Walker State Bank
Garfield County Bank
Benton County State Bank
The First State Bank
The First State Bank
Menno State Bank
Chester County Bank
Montrose Savings Bank
Peoples State Bank of Colfax
Schaller, IA
Wyandotte, OK
Mansfield, LA
Grapeland, TX
Hager City, WI
Newcastle, TX
Gates, TN
Wilton, ND
Paxton, NE
Milligan, NE
Mason, TX
Walker, IA
Jordan, MT
Blairstown, IA
Boise City, OK
Kiowa, KS
Menno, SD
Henderson, TN
Montrose, MO
Colfax, IL
17.09
14.20
13.40
12.83
12.16
12.03
11.97
11.85
11.57
11.49
11.32
11.11
11.01
10.95
10.69
10.50
10.47
10.41
10.27
10.24
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Institution Name
City, State
ROA
Community Bank
The State Exchange Bank
Atkins Savings Bank & Trust
The First National Bank of Ogden
Citizens Savings Bank
Piggott State Bank
People’s Bank of Seneca
Mainstreet Bank
Community State Bank
Farmers & Merchants State Bank
First State Bank
Farmers Savings Bank
First New Mexico Bank of Silver City
First State Bank of Mobeetie
Star Bank of Texas
Palmer Bank
Bank of the Valley
Bank of Brenham, N.A.
Commercial Bank of Mott
Sibley State Bank
Bristow, OK
Lamont, OK
Atkins, IA
Ogden, IL
Spillville, IA
Piggott, AR
Seneca, MO
Ashland, MO
Coffeyville, KS
Iroquois, SD
Loomis, NE
Wever, IA
Silver City, NM
Mobeetie, TX
Fort Worth, TX
Taylorville, IL
Bellwood, NE
Brenham, TX
Mott, ND
Sibley, IA
23.19
22.15
20.23
18.18
15.25
14.82
14.27
14.13
13.87
13.65
13.18
12.67
12.46
12.39
12.34
12.32
12.27
12.19
12.06
12.04
ROE Subchapter C Banks — $100–250 Million Assets
Institution Name
City, State
ROA
Treynor State Bank
First Financial Bank, N.A.
Security First National Bank of Hugo
Mississippi River Bank
The First National Bank of Izard County
West Central Georgia Bank
First Bank of Montana
Farmers and Merchants Bank
Bank of England
The Saint Henry Bank
The Exchange National Bank and Trust Co. of Atchison
Farmers and Drovers Bank
Citizens State Bank
Bank of Crockett
Small Town Bank
FirstBank of Adams County
Gibsland Bank & Trust Co.
First New Mexico Bank
First Bank of Boaz
FirstBank of Colorado Springs
Treynor, IA
Mineral Wells, TX
Hugo, OK
Belle Chasse, LA
Calico Rock, AR
Thomaston, GA
Lewistown, MT
Lafayette, AL
England, AR
Saint Henry, OH
Atchison, KS
Council Grove, KS
Sealy, TX
Bells, TN
Wedowee, AL
Thornton, CO
Gibsland, LA
Deming, NM
Boaz, AL
Colorado Springs, CO
2.49
2.13
2.13
1.79
1.73
1.63
1.60
1.59
1.59
1.59
1.54
1.54
1.52
1.49
1.49
1.49
1.45
1.45
1.43
1.41
32 ICBA IndependentBanker June 2010
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
ROE Subchapter C Banks — $50–100 Million Assets
ROA Subchapter C Banks — $100–250 Million Assets
1
2
2
4
5
6
7
8
8
8
11
11
13
14
14
14
17
17
19
20
ROE Subchapter C Banks — Less than $50 Million Assets
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Institution Name
City, State
Treynor State Bank
Security First National Bank of Hugo
FirstBank of Adams County
FirstBank of Parker
FirstBank of Colorado Springs
FirstBank of El Paso County
Gibsland Bank & Trust Co.
Bank of England
The Exchange National Bank and Trust Co.of Atchison
First Financial Bank, N.A.
1st State Bank
Mississippi River Bank
FirstBank of Evergreen
Small Town Bank
Citizens State Bank
De Witt Bank & Trust Co.
Bank of Mount Hope Inc.
Central Valley Bank
State Bank
First National Bank of Louisiana
Treynor, IA
33.05
Hugo, OK
27.51
Thornton, CO
23.30
Parker, CO
20.49
Colorado Springs, CO 19.40
Colorado Springs, CO 19.15
Gibsland, LA
17.94
England, AR
17.20
Atchison, KS
16.53
Mineral Wells, TX
16.33
Saginaw, MI
16.11
Belle Chasse, LA
15.97
Evergreen, CO
15.46
Wedowee, AL
14.36
Sealy, TX
14.24
de Witt, IA
13.96
Mount Hope, WV
13.89
Yakima, WA
13.42
Freeport, IL
13.40
Crowley, LA
13.33
ROA
ROA Subchapter C Banks — $250–500 Million Assets
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
15
17
17
19
20
Institution Name
City, State
ROA
Pioneer Trust Bank, N.A.
Valley Bank of Helena
The Fort Sill National Bank
FirstBank of Summit County
FirstBank of Avon
FirstBank of Douglas County
FirstBank of Arvada
FirstBank of Arapahoe County
Citizens Bank
Independence Bank
FirstBank of Littleton
Community National Bank & Trust of Texas
Industry State Bank
FirstBank of Vail
FirstBank North
FirstBank of Cherry Creek
FirstBank of Denver
FirstBank of Lakewood
FirstBank of Tech Center
Bank of Prairie du Sac
Salem, OR
Helena, MT
Fort Sill, OK
Silverthorne, CO
Avon, CO
Castle Rock, CO
Arvada, CO
Centennial, CO
Carthage, TN
Havre, MT
Littleton, CO
Corsicana, TX
Industry, TX
Vail, CO
Arvada, CO
Denver, CO
Denver, CO
Lakewood, CO
Englewood, CO
Prairie Du Sac, WI
2.43
2.11
2.09
2.02
1.86
1.85
1.84
1.83
1.82
1.76
1.74
1.73
1.67
1.66
1.64
1.64
1.61
1.61
1.59
1.55
ROA Subchapter C Banks — More than $500 Million Assets
The
ICBA
400
1
2
3
4
5
6
6
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
16
18
18
20
Institution Name
City, State
ROA
Lake Forest Bank and Trust Co.
Midland States Bank
First Federal Bank of Florida
First National Bank
FirstBank of South Jeffco
FirstBank of Colorado
First Bank
FirstBank of Boulder
Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co.
Stonegate Bank
City National Bank of West Virginia
Cameron State Bank
First Citizens National Bank
First Security Bank
Tompkins Trust Co.
Wayne Bank
First State Bank
Jeff Davis Bank & Trust Co.
Security State Bank and Trust
Jersey Shore State Bank
Lake Forest, IL
Effingham, IL
Lake City, FL
Fort Pierre, SD
Littleton, CO
Lakewood, CO
Troy, NC
Boulder, CO
Alexandria, VA
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Charleston, WV
Lake Charles, LA
Mansfield, PA
Searcy, AR
Ithaca, NY
Honesdale, PA
Mendota, IL
Jennings, LA
Fredericksburg, TX
Williamsport, PA
6.27
3.54
2.60
2.15
2.00
1.99
1.99
1.90
1.75
1.69
1.68
1.65
1.48
1.45
1.44
1.42
1.42
1.38
1.38
1.37
continued from page 30
per position last year. “Training
has to go deep in the organization for employees to have ownership,” Mick Guttau adds. “We
want people to think and make
decisions.”
Paducah Bank & Trust also
empowers its employees that
way. “Efficiency takes daily acts
of awareness and evaluation. You
never know when an opportunity for savings will present itself,”
34 ICBA IndependentBanker June 2010
ROE Subchapter C Banks — $250–500 Million Assets
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Institution Name
City, State
ROA
FirstBank of Arvada
FirstBank North
FirstBank of Arapahoe County
FirstBank of Cherry Creek
FirstBank of Summit County
FirstBank of Avon
FirstBank of Lakewood
FirstBank of Littleton
FirstBank of Wheat Ridge
FirstBank of Aurora
FirstBank of Vail
FirstBank of Douglas County
FirstBank of Longmont
FirstBank of Tech Center
Valley Bank of Helena
Industry State Bank
FirstBank of Northern Colorado
Minster Bank
FirstBank of Denver
Pioneer Trust Bank, N.A.
Arvada, CO
Arvada, CO
Centennial, CO
Denver, CO
Silverthorne, CO
Avon, CO
Lakewood, CO
Littleton, CO
Wheat Ridge, CO
Aurora, CO
Vail, CO
Castle Rock, CO
Longmont, CO
Englewood, CO
Helena, MT
Industry, TX
Fort Collins, CO
Minster, OH
Denver, CO
Salem, OR
30.60
27.67
27.06
25.72
25.55
24.60
24.44
24.42
23.09
22.47
21.59
21.32
20.46
20.38
19.72
19.40
18.85
17.82
17.53
17.11
ROE Subchapter C Banks — More than $500 Million Assets
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Institution Name
City, State
ROA
Lake Forest Bank and Trust Co.
Midland States Bank
FirstBank of South Jeffco
FirstBank of Boulder
FirstBank of Colorado
First Federal Bank of Florida
Tompkins Trust Co.
City National Bank of West Virginia
Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co.
First Bank
First Citizens National Bank
First State Bank
Jersey Shore State Bank
Cameron State Bank
First Security Bank
Urban Trust Bank
The Bridgehampton National Bank
Peoples National Bank
First National Bank of Omaha
Stonegate Bank
Lake Forest, IL
Effingham, IL
Littleton, CO
Boulder, CO
Lakewood, CO
Lake City, FL
Ithaca, NY
Charleston, WV
Alexandria, VA
Troy, NC
Mansfield, PA
Mendota, IL
Williamsport, PA
Lake Charles, LA
Searcy, AR
Lake Mary, FL
Bridgehampton, NY
Hallstead, PA
Omaha, NE
Fort Lauderdale, FL
70.91
34.14
29.39
27.46
27.32
24.21
21.86
18.29
18.19
17.65
17.37
17.35
17.30
16.42
16.06
16.00
15.56
15.06
14.49
14.30
Framptom says. “Many of these
decisions are made at the department level where employees regularly analyze costs and expenses.
For example, the decision not to
fill a vacant position was made at
the departmental level.”
It’s in this same spirit that City
Savings Bank and Paducah Bank
& Trust introduced incentivepay plans for their employees.
“We’re all co-owners, and we try
to spend our own money wisely,”
Framptom says.
Loans and losses
By far, community banks did not
engage in the risky lending that
perpetuated the financial crisis,
which resulted in many other
businesses reducing staff. A quality loan portfolio remains the gold
standard of success in prosperous and difficult times, ICBA 400
community banks agree. “The
team that has led lending in this
neck of the woods has done a
phenomenal job of making good
loan decisions,” says McSween of
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Creating
a Culture
of
Cost
Savings
While cutting costs wasn’t their primary focus during
last year’s economic downturn, top-performing community banks foster cost-conscious work environments. Here are some of the ways they’ve
incorporated cost savings into their cultures.
Monitoring utilities. Paducah Bank & Trust in Paducah,
Ky., recently installed thermostats to control its air-conditioning and heating units so they don’t run after hours.
Bringing staff together. City Savings Bank & Trust in
Derider, La., held a meeting with staff in early 2009 to discuss FDIC insurance-premium increases. “While not focused
on cost-cutting measures, we did pull a group together
Burke & Herbert Bank. “We were
much more rooted in practicing
good banking at a time when
others were chasing profits by
going after [loans] outside their
areas of expertise.”
Staying true to the bank’s lending standards during difficult
times has positioned Treynor
State Bank to move forward from
a position of strength. “On the
loan side, we barely put any loan
participations on the books,”
Guttau says. “We didn’t push loan
officers to make loans that they
weren’t comfortable with.”
About 10 years ago, Paducah
Bank & Trust changed its credit
culture to focus on keeping a
clean portfolio. “Our loan officers
are not paid on volume. They
make the right loans for the right
reasons,” bank President Wally
Bateman says. “Our loan officers
are also very proactive in bringing
problems to our attention. That’s
not the case at some banks.”
Most problems can be avoided
if community banks practice
traditional conservative underwriting. “We have to stick to the
fundamentals of good credit criteria. This whole mess was started
by people who threw that away,”
says City Savings Bank’s Bertrand.
“We can make good loans in slow
36 ICBA IndependentBanker June 2010
to look at where we could save money,” says the bank’s
executive vice president and COO, Robert S. Touchette.
Sharing financial information. John Durbin,
Paducah Bank & Trust’s CFO, presents a monthly
financial report to all staff. “Some bankers are
reluctant to share financial information with
staff, which makes no sense,” Durbin says.
Leveraging vendor relationships. Whether it’s your
health-care provider or your core processor, regularly
meet with your bank’s vendors to discuss potential
cost savings. They are a good source for keeping
you abreast of changes in the marketplace.
times, but we can’t take chances
when someone has a history of
not paying.”
While the quality of City
Savings Bank’s agricultural portfolio has improved, State Bank
of Schaller’s Currie is concerned
that the value of its commercial
portfolio has slipped. “The best
way to address this with all your
borrowers is to encourage loan
customers to make budgets that
work based on this year’s or,
better yet, last year’s income,
rather than placing too much
reliance on projected future
earnings,” he says.
In addition to their concerns
regarding decreasing credit
quality, even the most successful
community banks are worried
about the barrage of regulatory
changes expected from Congress
and the Obama administration
enacting financial reform legislation this year. “Even though
we’re a high-performing bank,
this regulatory environment is
a challenge,” says Treynor State
Bank’s Josh Guttau. “Although
we have clean assets, regulators don’t like to see that we’re
growing.”
“Regulatory burden from
Washington, D.C., will be the
greatest challenge we face,”
Framptom agrees. “I really
wonder how thousands of small
banks will be able to afford to
outsource or hire people to
handle the implementation and
tracking of all the changes.”
If regulatory issues weren’t
enough to contend with, there
is always concern about risk,
particularly interest-rate risk.
“Managing margins is going
to be extremely important,”
Touchette says. Burke, with
Burke & Herbert Bank, shares
his concern: “We’re trying to
look ahead to what’s going to
happen when deposit rates go
up. Our cost of funds is very
cheap, which is helping the
bottom line. We want to make
sure that we’re using our profits wisely to sow seeds for the
future during years when things
may not be as good.”
To perform well, community
banks must continually monitor and manage risk in a rapidly
changing environment. “It’s not
over yet,” Mick Guttau says. “We
need to make sure that we have
plans B, C and D—and the ability to implement them—in our
pockets.”
Apryl Motley is a communications
consultant in Columbia, Md.
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