ICBA’s Independent Banker Magazine named Bank of Montana 2nd in the the Top-Performing Community Banks in the asset category of $300 Million to $1 Billion. The rankings are compiled using pretax (FDIC data) return-on-assets (ROA) figures from the past three years, with the most recent year weighted at 3x, second most recent year at 2x and third most recent year at 1x. ICBA had a Q&A with Tom Swenson, below:
Q: What drives Bank of Montana’s success?
A: Our strategy focuses on doing a relatively small number of loans with a very small number of customers. We have 11 employees, and we’re highly specialized in economic development lending. So, we focus on businesses that are creating jobs in our community and state. Since we’re driven by that mission, we’re able to put a lot of time and effort into those transactions. For example, it’s not uncommon for one of our deals to take between one and three years to fully develop into a permanent loan.
Q: What role does your team play?A: Once a team is assigned to a project, it will stick with [it] from concept to completion. More than half of our current staff has been here for more than 10 years, so turnover is low. When clients call us, they feel like their needs are getting met, because the person answering the phone knows what’s going on with that specific project. Our corporate culture is also family-oriented and welcoming. [You] might see multiple dogs hanging out and young children having a snack in the lobby.
Q: What’s ahead for Bank of Montana?
A: We’re seeing significant long-term activity with our clients. A number have gone through business cycles and approached maturity, at which point we were concerned about being able to get new ones. However … a large number of entrepreneurial ventures are popping up around us. This gave us a bright outlook for 2024 and beyond, knowing that we’ll be able to continue doing what we’ve been doing.
Content sourced from IndependentBanker.org. For the full article, visit https://www.independentbanker.org/article/2024/05/01/icba’s-best-performing-banks-of-2024.