Independent Banker - May 2021 - 40

Less than
$300 million
by William Atkinson
take calculated risks, but do not take
undue credit or interest rate risks. By
achieving this, we maximize yield to
the bank with an orientation toward
risk-reward. " Skin in the game " is
[our] underwriting cornerstone.
Q&A
Blake Feik, president,
North Valley Bank
Q: Describe your bank's strategy
for high performance.
A: As a smaller full-service
commercial bank with state-of-theart
technologies, we pride ourselves
on the ability to be more flexible in
meeting our customers' loan and
depository needs. We make loans
to a lot of good, and sometimes
average, customers. Accordingly, we
Q: How does this philosophy play
out in terms of your loan strategy?
A: We take time to get to know our
borrowers, resulting in a customized
loan structure and financing terms
for many customers who probably
would not get loan approvals with
our competition.
Q: What role does employee
compensation play?
A: We have a fairly aggressive deferred
commission payout program for our
bankers, which can be quite lucrative.
All employees, including tellers, can
earn an attractive annual bonus when
the bank reaches and/or exceeds its
budgeted net profit.
Q: How do you ensure efficiency
throughout the bank?
A: We endeavor to streamline and
From left to right: North
Valley Bank's Rob Holt,
Denise Brown, Blake Feik
and Krystal Gaskill.
keep our overhead down, and thus
have an efficiency ratio of around
45%. We constantly keep our expenses
in check and look for ways to save
a dollar. We have no reliance on
brokered third-party referral business,
thus no middleman.
#19
North Valley Bank
Thornton, Colo.
Assets: $216 million
3-year average pre-tax ROA: 2.77%
nvbank.bank
Bank of Deerfield. It moved into its
current location in 1980 and built
another branch in 2005 to serve
3 MINUTES WITH ...
Darren Winkler, president
and CEO, Bank of Deerfield
The Bank of Deerfield was founded
in 1887 by H.B. Fargo and was
originally known as the H.B. Fargo
Company. In 1909, the business
name was formally changed to the
outlying community customers.
" We have a long history of taking
a commonsense approach to
community banking, " says president
and CEO Darren Winkler. " Our
customers trust us to proficiently
evaluate their needs, then offer
products and services accordingly. "
The community bank's personal and
trustworthy style of business is a longterm
strategy. " We know that honest,
efficient and straightforward service is
the key to building long-term banking
relationships within our community, "
he says.
Looking to the future, the Bank
of Deerfield's primary goal is to
continue to be a community bank
that understands its place in the
local market. " As banking evolves, "
Winkler says, " our team will upgrade
our products and technologies, while
continuing to serve our customers in
the same friendly, sincere and efficient
way that we always have. "
#22
Bank of Deerfield
Deerfield, Wis.
Assets: $176 million
3-year average pre-tax ROA: 2.67%
bankofdeerfield.com
38 Q ICBA Independent Banker Q May 2021
http://www.bankofdeerfield.com
Independent Banker - May 2021

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