Kensington Bank Newsletter Spring 2013

Kensington Bank Newsletter
Spring 2013
Isn’t it amazing how long the winter has been! The piles of snow around our Kensington office are still high
along the roads and in the driveways. There is more open ground in Cokato, but for this time of year, still
there’s a lot of snow around. But it FEELS like Spring is coming! The days are so much longer, the sun feels
so much warmer, and the birds are singing.
Letter
from
Jon:
Inside this issue:
Earth Day
2
Debit cards to
change!
2
Congratulations
Robyn!
2
Takin’ it to the
Limit!
2
Everything you’ve
ever wanted to know
about EFT!
3
Mobile Banking
3
The Bottom Line
4
By Dan
It is interesting as I reflect back on previous letters I have written. For several years I was lamenting about
the economic troubles in which we found ourselves. The Great Recession (as they call it) seemed to bring
nothing but bad news about housing disasters, increases in joblessness, and gutted retirement accounts. There
are still those sore points out there on the news like the inability for the people in Washington, DC to
function like a responsible governing body. But overall, the future seems more positive and people are in
better spirits.
Our business, our community banking business, has had so many changes the past several years. While the
official government talk has been to reduce the size of the big banks and support the hometown bank, the
facts indicate otherwise and there is increasing pressure on small community banks, like us, to meet
regulatory requirements. The Board of Directors has had many discussions about how we respond to this
regulatory pressure. The strategic decision was made a couple of years ago to grow by acquisition. So it has
been one year since we acquired the State Bank of Cokato. We continue to be very pleased with bringing
together the two organizations and serving the financial needs of both communities. There are so many
opportunities for synergy and growth as a result of our combined locations that we are still getting them
sorted out. Our overall mission remains the same, “to build long term and stable financial relationships with
the members of the communities we serve while developing committed and empowered employees.”
I know we have had problems with changes in how things are done and I personally want to thank you for
your patience and understanding. I am humbled every day by your continued trust and loyalty.
Thank you, Jon Hall CEO
Staff News!
Best Wishes Carol!
Since July of 2012 our Kensington location has added 6
new faces, 4 of whom are on the teller line! We are
pleased to welcome Michelle Shauer, Ashton Hagen,
Linda Johnson and Karee Kopet as tellers, Chris Merten to
credit administration and Ben Barlage to operations.
Cokato welcomes Lender,
Cathryn Thisius; Credit
Analyst Heather Westby;
and Lisa Gardner and Kim
Knoll in credit
administration.
Carol Amundson a long
time employee at
Cokato has retired
after 25 years as a
teller. We will all miss
her and wish her a
happy retirement!
Three tellers that you
have come to know in Cokato
since July are Kori Anne
Nelson, Nicole Christopher,
and Rachel Larson. Behind
the teller line you have
maybe spotted Cokato
natives Deb Menard who is in
operations and Kerry Nelson,
Compliance Officer.
A New Look for our
Debit Cards!
Soon you will see a change
in your re-issued debit
cards! For Kensington
customers the old mustard
yellow/orange cards are
going to be replaced by a
fresh new look. They will
still be Shazam cards but
we think you’ll like the
change of appearance!
Cokato customers will be
going through a conversion
from First Data cards to
Shazam. You will receive a
letter with the
details of the
conversion soon
so watch your mailbox!
Kensington Bank Newsletter
Page 2
Earth Day Celebration
April 22 to April 26. 2013
In observance of Earth
Day we are giving away
reusable shopping bags
the entire week of April
22nd to 26th. Use your
bag proudly as you are
doing your part to reduce the use of disposable grocery bags.
“Approximately 380 billion
plastic bags are used every
year in the USA every year.
That’s more than 1200 bags
Single-use bags, both paper and plastic, represent a
huge threat to the environment. This threat is not
only related to the sheer volume of them ending up
in landfill, but also to the resources needed to
produce, transport and (occasionally) recycle them,
and the emissions resulting from these processes.
Single-use plastic bags are also well known for their
interference in ecosystems and the part they play in
flood events, where they clog pipes and drains.
Only 1 to 2% of plastic bags in the USA end
up getting recycled.
Americans consume more than 10 billion paper
bags per year. Approximately 14 million trees
are cut down every year for paper bag
production.
per US resident each year!”
Congratulations to Robyn Olson!
Robyn and Kensington
Bank’s CEO, Jon Hall
Robyn just completed her 30th year working at Kensington Bank! When Robyn
started working at First State Bank of Kensington in 1983 she had just completed
the Finance and Credit course at Alexandria Technical College. Since then she’s
been a teller and bookkeeper and most recently Kensington Bank’s Cashier and Sr
VP of Retail Services. She is also in charge of Human Services.
As you can see she’s a very busy person but you will always see Robyn smiling!
Thanks Robyn for 30 great years!
Happy Birthday to US!
As of April 1st
Kensington Bank is one
year old! Thank you to all
of our loyal customers for
your patience during this
time of transition, we
appreciate it.
Takin’ it to the Limit!
Kensington Bank is proud to sponsor “Takin it to the Limit” a Tribute to the
Eagles. The performance will be held April 26th at 7pm at the DasselCokato Performing Arts Center and features the Fabulous Armadillos and
The Collective Unconscious as a one of a kind Eagles tribute band. Tickets
are reserved seating $25 for adults and $7 for youth.
Kensington Bank staff is looking forward to being ushers at this exciting
event!
Kensington Bank Newsletter
Spring 2013
Page 3
EFT Short Course (or Why you should ALWAYS monitor your account!)
EFT Errors
EFT is not a perfect system; therefore customers
should still be diligent in reviewing their account
statements for possible errors as they would with
any other type of transaction. Should a customer
notice that there has been an error in an
electronic fund transfer relating to their account
certain steps must be taken:
The Electronic Funds Transfer Act was
passed in 1978 to establish the rights and
liabilities of consumers as well as the
responsibilities of all participants in
electronic funds transfer activities.
An Electronic Funds Transfer
(EFT) is the electronic exchange,
transfer of money from one
account to another, either
within a single financial
institution or across multiple
institutions, through computerbased systems.
What the EFT Act Covers
The EFT Act does not apply to all
preauthorized plans. It does not
apply to automatic transfers from
the consumer’s bank to the
consumer’s account at that bank.
The EFT Act would also not apply to
automatic transfers between a
consumer’s accounts at a specific
bank.
Write or call the financial institution
immediately if possible*
Must be no later than 60 days from the
date of erroneous statement
Give their name and account number
Caption describing
picture or graphic.
Explain why they believe there is an
error, the type, dollar amount and date
May be required to send details of the
error in writing within 10 business days
*Kensington Operations dept: 888-965-2419
Limit to customer liability on loss or theft of card
If a customer reports to the financial institution that
their card is missing before any transactions
When using electronic funds transfer, the take place, they are not held responsible for any
Act does not give the consumer the right transaction that takes place after the report of a
to stop payment.
missing or stolen card.
A customer can be liable for unauthorized
withdrawals if their card is lost or stolen
and they do not follow certain criteria:
“Write or call
the Financial
Institution
immediately if
possible”
Loss is limited to $50 if institution is notified within two
business days
Mobile Banking is alive
and well at Kensington
Bank!
Loss could be up to $500 if institution is notified between 3
and 59 days
Checking your account can be as easy as
picking up your phone!
If loss is not reported within 60 business days customer risks
unlimited loss on transfers made after the 60 day period.
We are pleased to report that mobile
banking has been added to our list of
banking services. Mobile banking may be
added by simply accessing your internet
banking account and signing up. It’s
easy and secure and best of all it’s FREE!
Attention Cokato customers!
Kensington Bank sent out a letter last year upon acquisition about
ordering checks with the Kensington Bank routing number. This is just a reminder to make sure you are using
the Kensington Bank routing number when you are reordering checks, setting up automatic payments or direct
deposits. (If you order checks through the Bank they will automatically be ordered with the Kensington Bank
routing number.) The State Bank of Cokato routing number has NOT been discontinued as we still have a lot of
transactions coming through with this routing number, however at some point this will be discontinued. There is
not a set date when this will happen and we will give our customers notice when it will occur.
The Kensington Bank routing number is 091208138.
11 North Central Avenue
P.O. Box 190
Kensington, MN 56343
PRESORT STANDARD
US POSTAGE PAID
COKATO, MN
PERMIT NO. 60
101 E Third St.
P.O. Box 220
Cokato, MN 55321
We’re on the web!
www.kensingtonbanks.com
The Bottom Line
By Dan Robertson
As I write this message I look at the calendar and it reads April 1st, which is a significant date in the
history of Kensington Bank. This date marks the 1 year anniversary of the merging of two financial institutions,
First State Bank of Kensington and State Bank of Cokato. The word ‘anniversary’ is of Latin origin and is the
merger of the words ‘year’ and ‘to turn’. It is interesting to reflect on these root words and how they relate to
our journey at Kensington Bank. A ‘year’ is best described as a finite measure of time…12 months, 365 days,
8,765 hours….but what happens DURING a year sometimes seems quite opposite, or INfinite.
I can say from inside the walls of Kensington Bank it sometimes felt like an infinite amount of successes
and challenges occurred which gave our team members the opportunity to learn more about themselves, their
co-workers, and most importantly about you, our customers. Some examples of the changes you may have
noticed are as follows: the name change, the change to our Cokato lobby hours, the conversion of our core
computer system, the change to the appearance of our statements, the change to our bank website, and the
addition of a mobile banking option for your smart phone. The alignment of these things should illustrate the
strength of our brand and create a better customer experience for you. The second portion of the word
‘anniversary’ contains the equivalent of the words ‘to turn’. This has very important relevance for Kensington
Bank as it is time we ‘turn’ into the second year of our adventure. Although much has been accomplished we
must continue to keep our focus on the future and what is before us. I have no doubts the next 12 months will
prove to be another wonderful year at Kensington Bank as we continue to provide more employment
opportunities for our community members, we continue to align our product offerings, and we continue to grow
with you, our customers, in providing financial services to you and your families.
I continue to be impressed with the success of our organization after this first year and cannot wait to
see what the second year will bring. With borrowing rates being near all time historic lows we have literally
borrowed out millions of dollars to bank customers over the past year, ranging from first time automobile
purchases to home refinancing and being partners to our agricultural and business customers. We are also very
excited about our competitive deposit products and the value of those products is clear as we are adding new
bank deposit customers every day.
It is a great time to be a customer of Kensington Bank and we can’t thank you enough for the
opportunity to be a part of your financial future.