Q&A

The following is a brief interview between WBA President and CEO Rose Oswald Poels and Wolf River Community Bank, Hortonville President and CEO Joe Peikert. Read past interviews at wisbank.com

Rose: How did you first get into the banking industry?

Joe: I graduated from UW-Platteville with a degree in finance and an accounting minor. I was hired as an internal auditor at a bank holding company that was headquartered in my hometown of Menomonee Falls.

Once I passed the CPA exam and joined KPMG Peat Marwick’s Milwaukee office, I thought I would be out of the banking industry. A few years later, I was back in banking with Fox Cities Bank in Neenah, and then Thrivent Financial Bank. I’ve lived in Hortonville since leaving the Milwaukee area, and 15 years ago, I ended up right in my “backyard” at Wolf River Community Bank.

What is your favorite aspect of your role at your bank?

Stating it simply — I love helping people. I’m so fortunate to have this role at a community bank where we live, go to church, send our kids to school, shop, etc.

I most enjoy helping each one of our employees grow their skills and careers. I like to teach and share with people the things I’ve learned over many years. That might be helping someone understand the complexities of interest rate risk management or developing the skills of our next generation of leaders at the bank. I also get the opportunity to help our customers navigate their financial needs.

I especially enjoy the variety of what I’m able to do on a daily basis. I might spend my lunch hour at our local library reading books to preschoolers, then in the evening, present our annual results at our stockholder meeting.

What do you wish the general public understood about the banking industry?

I believe that many people don’t really think all that much about where they bank. However, I wish more people understood that where they choose to bank makes a difference both to them and their community.

I have talked to friends and neighbors about where they bank, and they seem surprised when I share that I’d love for them to bank with us. I’ve seen a light go on when I explain to them that when they bank with a local community bank, not only are they getting remarkable service from people they know, but that banking local also helps our communities. The more support we get from the communities, the more we are able to give back to the communities through volunteerism and donations to schools, clubs, service organizations, and the like.

Where do you believe the industry’s greatest challenges are in the next three to five years?

As in all industries, our biggest challenge will be in keeping up with all the changes occurring. I read a quote recently that said “the rate of change we experienced in the last year has been the fastest in history. And it will never move this slowly again.”

Throughout the banking industry, we need to be sure to keep up with changes in technology. The time gap from one new technology to the next is getting shorter with each iteration. We need to make a commitment to stay current because our customers are going to expect it. While I truly believe that customers will always want to be able to walk into a physical location and meet in person with their banker, they will also expect to handle most of their regular financial transactions without doing so.

With the number of moving parts we face each day, including cybersecurity, cryptocurrency, economic uncertainty, regulatory reach, etc., our industry must keep an eye on each of these challenges so we can keep our customers safe and best serve their financial needs.

Finding and keeping great people will be a challenge as well. I recently spoke to a group of business students at our local high school and asked how many are thinking they’d like to have a career in banking. It is probably not a surprise that there were none. As bankers, we need to do a better job of telling our story on how rewarding a career in banking can be.

Please share one of your more rewarding experiences (e.g., a time you had to go above and beyond to help a customer, a memorable customer interaction, stepping in to help the local community after a disaster, etc.).

The one that comes to mind is a recent situation where I helped a customer who was the victim of a fraud.

I noticed that this customer, whom I know from church, was coming in the bank regularly over several days — which was unusual for him — and spending time on long transactions at the teller line. When I asked the tellers about the transactions, they said he was depositing a lot of old coins and asking how much was in his account. He told them he needed to get a certain

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Help Wanted

Branch Manager

As the branch manager at State Bank of Reeseville, you’ll be in charge of directing our team of customer service representatives through some of the most exciting transformations and advancements in our history!

You’ll coordinate, direct, and assist employees to extend maximum customer satisfaction. You’ll be responsible for CSR training, and the development of personnel. Additionally, as a management position, you’ll provide leadership, direction, and guidance to employees in achieving various departments’ objectives. Of course, you’ll answer questions and solve problems posed by customers, but also by your colleagues and our team of customer service representatives. You also may have to handle disciplinary actions, when necessary You will also have the chance to bring forth your input on changes to our processes and implement best practices throughout our organization, you may be assigned special projects when needed.

Does this sound like you? If so, contact Jayne K. Adams, human resources director, for more information on the position and our organization. Additionally, further details regarding the application and employment process should be directed to jaynea@ statebankofreeseville.com

Business Banker

Frandsen Bank & Trust is seeking a business banker for the Eau Claire location and surrounding area. This position prospects for, underwrites, and closes secured and unsecured commercial loans in accordance with established lending objectives, policies, and procedures. In addition, the business banker establishes and manages positive business relationships with existing and prospective customers, by performing assigned duties and responsibilities.

As part of this position, the business

Visit banker will support the lending staff in developing new and existing business relationships through key contacts within the local community to market the bank’s services with emphasis on commercial lending and other areas as designated; analyze individual loan documents to determine customers’ cash flow, ability to pay the loan, profit potential of the loan, etc. in order to minimize loan loss and maximize potential profit; support lending staff meet and interview applicants to determine creditworthiness, deny or grant each loan, secure required signatures, explains procedures or reasons for denial, and presents possible alternatives to those denied to maintain a favorable bank image; as well as support lending staff to monitors and collect past due loans in a manner which will minimize the bank’s loan losses while providing flexibility to customers and documentation of exceptions.

Minimum qualifications for this position include at least 5 years’ experience in lending, a bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience, the ability to work independently, excellent organization and communication skills, and strong credit analysis and underwriting skills.

Please visit frandsencorporation. com/134446/business-banker to apply.

Chief Financial Officer Chief financial officer wanted for a fullservice community bank! Clare Bank has eight locations in southwest Wisconsin. Banking experience is preferred. This position is responsible for call report, investing, and working directly with auditors. Salary is dependent on experience.

Community Advocate (continued from p. 30) dollar amount in his account. They said he seemed confused and was also a bit evasive with them.

A day or so later, one of our lenders came to me and said this same customer wanted to take out a loan using his car as collateral — which also seemed very unusual for this customer. The lender and I agreed that when the customer came in, we would ask him about this sudden unusual change in his finances.

In that conversation we were eventually able to learn that he had fallen victim to one of the well-known elder scams in which he was to send money in order to secure a large “prize ” We were able to keep him from losing a lot of money and get family members involved to help him.

Oswald Poels is WBA president and CEO | ropoels@wisbank.com

608-441-1200

Please contact Deb McWilliams at deb@clarebank.com to view the full job description and apply today!

Mortgage Banker

Frandsen Bank & Trust is seeking a Mortgage Banker for our Eau Claire office. Candidates must understand secondary market loan programs and have sales and marketing experience. This person will be responsible for origination of secondary market loans and in-house portfolio market loans.

This position involves the origination of residential loan applications, including purchase, refinance, and construction loans. Qualified applicants must be able to develop and maintain relationships with key referral sources, such as realtors, builders, financial planners, attorneys, etc.

Minimum Qualifications include at least 3–5 years’ experience in lending and a bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience.

This individual should have the ability to work independently, to develop and maintain relationships with key referral sources, excellent organization and communication skills, and strong credit analysis and underwriting skills.

Please visit frandsencorporation. com/index.php/133309/mortgagebanker to apply.

Vice President – Commercial Lender/Branch Manager

Waumandee State Bank is seeking a talented individual to fill the role of VP – commercial lender/branch manager at our branch location in Blair A successful applicant will be responsible for managing Blair branch staff and their day-to-day operations in both deposits and lending. In addition, the applicant will be responsible for maintaining a loan portfolio, promoting business development, and providing recommendations to meet bank-wide goals. Preference given to those with prior lending experience.

If interested in this position, you can pick up an application in person at any of our eight branch locations: Waumandee, Arcadia, Black River Falls, Blair, Durand, Fountain City, Mondovi, or Whitehall. You may also download our employment application at waumandeebank.com/ Career-Opportunities

Applicants may also apply on Indeed: indeed.com/cmp/WaumandeeState-Bank/jobs or send resumes and employment applications via traditional mail or e-mail to Jean Pronschinske, human resource officer, at jeanp@ waumandeebank.com or S2021 County Road U, Waumandee, WI 54622

Wisconsin Banker

We actively advocate for, educate, and support our members to help them positively impact the Wisconsin communities they serve.

Association Officers:

Daniel J. Peterson (Chair), President/CEO, The Stephenson National Bank & Trust, Marinette

Donna J. Hoppenjan (Chair-Elect), President/CEO, Mound City Bank, Platteville

Alvaro Araque (Vice Chair), Senior Vice President, Director of Consumer and Private Banking, Johnson Financial Group, Racine

Kenneth D. Thompson (Past Chair), President/CEO, Capitol Bank, Madison Rose Oswald Poels, President/CEO, Wisconsin Bankers Association, Madison Association Board of Directors:

James R. Chatterton, President National Exchange Bank & Trust, Fond du Lac

Paul A. Hoffmann, President

Lake Ridge Bank, Monona

Ryan T. Kamphuis, President/CEO

Bristol Morgan Bank, Oakfield

Greg Lundberg, President/CEO

Fortifi Bank, Berlin

Jay C. Mack, President/CEO Town Bank, N.A., Hartland

Thomas Mews, President

First National Community Bank, New Richmond

Paul J. Northway, President/CEO

American National Bank Fox Cities, Appleton

Greg A. Ogren, President/CEO

Security Bank Shares, Inc., Iron River

Joe Peikert, President/CEO

Wolf River Community Bank, Hortonville

Jennifer L. Provancher, President/CEO

The Equitable Bank, S.S.B., Wauwatosa

Daniel J. Ravenscroft, President/CEO

Royal Bank, Elroy

Teresa (Terry) Rosengarten, President/Chief Operating Officer Unity Bank, Augusta

Wisconsin Banker is published by Wisconsin Bankers Association, 4721 South Biltmore Lane, Madison, WI 53718; Telephone: 608-441-1200; Fax: 608-661-9381; wisbank.com

Cassandra Krause, Editor

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