Pub. 7 2017 Issue 3

11 ISSUE 3. 2017 correspondent loans up to $20 million, so we can accommodate most requests.) And, they want to work with a bank that does not re-partici - pate the credit. On larger loans, they value our perspective on risk, structure and other factors. And finally, they like doing business with a bank that combines lending capacity with community bank values. Q. You mean there’s a $4.5 billion bank that’s headquartered in Fargo, North Dakota? How does that happen, and how does a privately held bank maintain the required capital ratios? A. Bell’s growth has occurred primarily organically, rather than through acquisitions. We’re now one of the largest independently owned banks in the country and the largest in our region. We’ve done this by operating the way community banks, as a rule, operate – around the philosophy that people matter. Like so many of our correspondent banking partners, we’ve always believed in knowing our customers well and doing right by them. We’ve focused on growth over profits. I don’t think you can have continued, significant growth and off-the-charts profits every year. At times, we’ve priced loans lower and deposits higher in order to grow. Sometimes you might have to fight with the ‘bean counters’ to do it – but if you don’t do it, your growth is not sustainable. This strategy might not help us make the ‘high performing banks’ list for earnings, but we don’t have the pressure of next quarter’s earnings that public - ly held companies do. Over the years, our stockholders have been willing to sacrifice dividends, putting our profits back into the company in order to support growth. Q. Are there other strategies that have helped the bank grow? A. We have bought a few smaller banks over the years, but acquisi - tions are not our typical strategy. We’ve added a lot of great people who embrace our simple ‘bottom line’ mission: ‘Happy Employees! Happy Customers!’ If you hire good people who enjoy what they do, are proud of where they work and are rewarded when the company is successful, they’ll treat your customers well, and both employees and customers will bring significant business to the company. Q. Many banks got out of correspondent banking during the financial crisis of ’07 and ’08. Why didn’t Bell? A. Our loan losses during that period weren’t something we blamed on bad correspondent loans or bad underwriting. These were good people, good companies, with loans that were underwritten well – but those were tough times. Because so many banks got out of correspondent in those years, it ac - tually was a good time for us to expand. We now have correspondent bankers in multiple ‘hub’ cities, and the territory extends way out for our correspondent ‘road warriors.’ Our footprint and commitment to correspondent banking keeps growing. Q. Are you doing more of any specific types of loans? A. We do an unusual volume of bank stock loans to bank ownership groups and holding companies, enabling them to purchase banks, buy out shareholders or inject capital needed for growth. Lots of correspondent banks don’t do loans to this group – but because we’ve been on the other side of the ledger, it’s an area we understand. Growing banks and bank holding companies often need long-term financing, and we’re willing to be flexible in how we structure their loans. w For more information about forming a correspondent partnership with Bell, contact Tracy Peterson, senior vice president/correspondent banking business development officer, at 480-259-8280 or tpeterson@bellbanks.com . Bell Bank is an equal housing lender, member FDIC.