CorTrust Bank: Invested in relationships

BY HannaH Merritt Marketing & Public Relations

Minnesota avenue Location sioux Falls Cortrust Bank is an important figure in the history of south dakota communities, as well as in the history of independent Community Bankers of south dakota. since their inception in 1930, giving back to the communities they serve has been vital to the success of their branches across eastern south dakota. Whether getting involved on the school board, chamber of commerce or volunteering time coaching, Cortrust Bank strongly encourages their employees to be involved in the communities they call home.

“south dakota is a wonderful place to live, but it wouldn’t be if people weren’t willing to give back. For us, community involvement is not a short-term investment. We are constantly looking for ways to improve our communities,” said Cortrust Bank President & CeO and third-generation banker, Jack Hopkins.

Cortrust Bank has made it clear they are growing for the future. With 22 branches in south dakota and 15 in Minnesota they don’t have any intentions of slowing down. amidst their growth and expansion across state lines, the Cortrust team has consistently nurtured a workplace culture that prioritizes stewardship, community involvement and industry activism company wide. they credit this success to their leadership team and ability to build lasting relationships.

“Many members of our leadership team have come from small towns. they understand what it is like to live, work and play in rural america,” said Jack.

sioux Falls Market President and iCBsd Chairman of the Board, roger Weber is one of many members of the leadership team from rural south dakota. roger is from Bridgewater, sd and pursued his undergraduate degree at south dakota state University (Jack, an enthusiastic Usd alum, jokingly claims roger’s undergraduate degree “doesn’t count.” the two men have an ongoing, friendly rivalry that is

Cortrust Bank Habitat for Humanity Volunteers – sioux Falls Left: Cortrust Mortgage Jeans for a Cause. raising money for organizations that were especially taxed during the pandemic. Brittany kirchner, dawn renner, Wendy nankivel, amy Moss, Mindy reemts, tod Hopkins & Haley Ullom

right: todd Hopkins, President Cortrust Mortgage, Jack Hopkins, President and CeO Cortrust Bank and Boyd Hopkins, Chairman of the Board of directors

sure to come up any time they are together!). roger has worked alongside Jack for 17 years and shared one notable observation.

“Jack leads by example. He is great about encouraging our employees to find their passion and volunteer. Jack is involved in many charitable causes – he is active in the chambers of commerce, Lifescape south dakota, Catholic schools Foundation, and Usd Foundation just to name a few. He makes sharing his time with these organizations a priority, which inspires others to do the same.”

roger came to Cortrust bank from a national financial institution. roger noted, “the biggest change coming into a family run bank was the management style. Management was no longer by committee. decisions are made in-house which allows us to respond quickly to the market and customers’ needs. On top of that, i saw how invested management is within their communities. i now have the support of my employer to volunteer my time and make a difference.”

roger is no stranger to community involvement. His contributions include past chairman for sioux Falls Catholic school Foundation, Make-a-Wish of south dakota, south eastern development Foundation, chairman for sioux empire Housing Partnership, chairman for sioux Falls Chamber appeals Committee, state theater Board, and current board member for southeastern Council of government.

in addition to serving their communities, Jack and roger also serve the banking industry well. Both men have a shared interest in the independent Community Bankers of south dakota. in fact, there is a legacy of Cortrust Bankers who have played a significant role in the association. in 1983, the iCBsd was commissioned under the influence of multiple industry advocates including then Cortrust Bank President Boyd Hopkins Jr. their mission: to allow bankers to stay connected, share information and resources and advocate for the betterment of industry. today, that legacy lives on within the next generation of community bankers who remain committed to the mission, industry and fellow bankers.

For Cortrust Bank, that commitment runs deep throughout the organization. in addition to aiding in the start of the iCBsd, Boyd Hopkins Jr. served as chairman of the iCBsd board of directors as did his son, Jack from 1999 to 2001. two additional Cortrust Bankers have also served as chairmen: Yankton Market President Lynn Peterson from 2006 to 2007 and Mitchell Market President terry torgerson from 2014 to 2015. now, roger Weber is carrying on the Cortrust tradition as the fifth Cortrust Banker to serve as chairman.

When asked why participating on the iCBsd board of directors was important roger commented, “the iCBsd and Cortrust Bank missions align extremely well. it’s about serving communities, customers and fellow community banks. the voice community banks need is different than a national bank. i’ve had the opportunity to see this through my time at Cortrust.”

Boyd Hopkins Jr, Boyd Hopkins sr and Jack Hopkins

When the pandemic hit the U.s. last February, supporting their communities took on an entirely new meaning but their personal connection and relationships with customers did not change.

“When the first documented case of COVid-19 was confirmed in the U.s., we dusted off and reviewed the pandemic response portion of our disaster recovery Program. i joked with our team and said i hope we don’t have to implement this,” said Jack.

While there were many challenges, Cortrust Bank capitalized on many unlikely opportunities presented by the pandemic. they were no longer able to connect with their customers face to face, yet through technology and innovation they were able to serve their customers in other ways. due to the trust and strong relationships they built with their customers, Cortrust Bank was able to increase customer facing efficiencies. during the height of the pandemic, the banks mobile deposits increased by 39%, active online banking customers increased 9%, electronic statement delivery increased by 11%, and opt-in email communications (“…with valid email addresses,” added Jack) increased by 18%. Yet, their number one opportunity has been their ability to enhance their customer relationships by working with them through hard times. thirty-seven percent of the PPP’s loans Cortrust closed were for individuals who were not customers prior to the pandemic; most of them coming from Wells Fargo and Us Bank. in addition, most of those individuals have since transferred their business to Cortrust Bank.

“round one of the PPP was intense! Our team stayed well after hours to key in loans in order to take care of our customers. after locking up one night, i struck up casual conversation with a gentleman in the parking garage. the conversation quickly turned into business, and he expressed frustration. His current bank wasn’t helping him with his PPP loan. in that moment we headed upstairs, i unlocked the doors, and we began processing his loan. We gained a new customer that night,” grinned Jack.

grateful for the opportunity to serve new and existing customers, the Cortrust team found motivation to keep up with customer demand through teamwork, collaboration and strengthening relationships within their team; something roger said was equally gratifying.

“throughout COVid, we built great teamwork! things were constantly changing. it was fun to see our teams come together, collaborate and figure things out. People were working all hours of the day for their customers. i witnessed the pride they have in their work and the respect they have for fellow employees. their commitment to our customers is sincere,” said roger.

Building relationships with their communities and customers isn’t the only thing Cortrust Bank does well. they build strong and lasting relationships with their employees, too. For Jack and the leadership team, family comes first, and their employees are like family. allowing their employees to have the flexibility to attend family events and activities is an important part of the Cortrust culture.

“they see me occasionally take time off to attend family events. i fully expect our employees to have the same opportunity,” said Jack.

aligning the organizational values with those of their employees has built tremendous employee loyalty and resulted in low turnover, both of which strongly benefit the customers and communities they serve.

“that’s one of the things i’m most proud of. We don’t lose people often, if we do it’s to retirement or illness. Looking around at our middle and senior management, most of them are tenured. We just don’t lose people,” said Jack.

in today’s landscape, the community banking business model is more important than ever before. Based on relationships and personal connections, Cortrust Bank understands the needs of their communities and their customers. Where there is a healthy community, there is a healthy community bank; this is something Cortrust Bank has proven to be true. through investing in their communities, building lasting relationships with their employees and being a committed advocate for the industry, Cortrust Bank will remain an important and invested figure in south dakota community banking.

aberdeen salvation army. Filled over 550 bags of food for families in need during Christmas. Mark Hahler, Connie kusler, Heather sieh & Corey Bobzien