At Frandsen Bank & Trust, Customers’ Success Always Comes First
To buy or not to buy. That was the question. Should the young man buy the electricalservices company where he had worked for 12 years or forgo the opportunity?
Faced with one of the most important decisions of his life, he turnedto Frandsen Bank & Trust (FB&T) for guidance.
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“His boss was interested in selling the company and he asked the young man if hewanted to buy it,” says FB&T CEO Chuck Mausbach. “We could tell he was reallyuncertain because he didn’t know what was involved in buying a business.”Fortunately, the bank’s loan officers did.
“Working with a local CPA and an attorney, theygathered financial information on the companyand interviewed the owner to learn all about it.They then developed a strategic plan for theemployee to follow if he decided to go aheadwith the purchase, which he ultimately did.We also helped him get an SBA-guaranteedloan. We took him by the hand and walkedhim through it, and now he’s the ownerof a thriving business.”
Advisory Relationship Banking
Success stories like this are all in a day’s work for FB&T’s bankingand financial professionals. “Our vision is to proactively providefinancial solutions that will create success in the lives of ourcustomers, our communities and our employees,” Mausbachsays. “We do this by asking great questions—and then trulylistening to the answers. We try to guide our customers to makereally quality decisions so they don’t get into trouble.”
With all the technology of a larger bank, FB&T offers full-servicecommunity banking along with full trust and investment services.
“We determine needs, develop relationships and deliver solutions.That is our mission, and it is truly what we’re all about,” Mausbachsays. “We believe in advisory relationship banking rather thanproduct pushing, and we pride ourselves in offering the highestlevel of personal service.” Having decision makers in every marketthat FB&T serves allows for better and faster service and truerelationship management, he says.
The Frandsen Way
Mausbach says every member of the FB&T team is expected to live by a set of principles they call The Frandsen Way, basedon the organization’s vision, mission and core values. “The Frandsen Way is embedded into our culture. Our top leaders,including me, talk about it all the time, and we reward those who exhibit it.”
Something else that differentiates FB&T: “In this day of consolidations, we’re an acquirer of other banks, not a candidate tobe acquired,” Mausbach says.
Indeed, since its inception in 1982, FB&T has grown from one office, in Luck, Wisconsin, to 39, largely throughacquisitions. Today, it has offices in 34 communities across Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota, each with itsown market president.
Mausbach says the organization is always on the lookout for additional high-quality banks to acquire. He notes that anybank FB&T purchases must have a culture compatible with that of FB&T, including its approach to loan decision-making.
For all its growth, FB&T has worked hard to maintain its small-town bank feel.“We’re large enough to help,” Mausbach says. “At the same time, we’re smallenough to care. And our customers appreciate it.”
Frandsen Bank & Trust by the Numbers
- 39 offices in 34 communities in Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota
- $2.1 billion in total assets (plus additional assets in trust and investment advisory divisions)
- Percentage of loan business: 61 percent business/agricultural loans, 34 percent mortgages
- Employee volunteer hours in 2019: nearly 15,000, serving 419 community organizations
Awards and Recognitions
- Recognized as one of America’s Best Banks in Minnesota by Forbes magazine, one of only three banks
- in the state to make the list (2019)
- Named one of the Top 150 Workplaces in Minnesota by the Star Tribune (2018, 2019)
- Honored as a Community Champion by the Minnesota Bankers Association (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)
4388 Round Lake Road West | Arden Hills, MN 55112
This content was provided by Financial Service Directory. Kiplinger is not affiliated with and does not endorse the company or products mentioned above.
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