Bell Bank

Bell Bank is a privately-owned bank headquartered in Fargo, North Dakota.[1] State Bankshares is Bell Bank's parent company.[2]

Bell Bank
TypePrivately Held Company
IndustryBanking, Financial Services, Mortgage, Insurance
Founded1966 (1966)
Headquarters
Fargo, North Dakota
,
U.S.
Key people
Richard Solberg, Board Chairman|Michael Solberg, President & CEO|Rod Jordahl, EVP/Chief Financial Officer|Julie Peterson Klein, EVP/Chief Culture Officer|Patrick Chaffee, EVP/Banking & Wealth Management|Todd Lee, EVP/Banking & Commercial Lending Administration|Tony Weick, EVP/Bell Bank Mortgage President
Number of employees
1,500
Websitehttps://bell.bank/
Bell Bank is an independently owned bank based in Fargo, North Dakota

History and growth

Bell Bank was founded as State Bank of Fargo in 1966[3] as a single location in the Northport Shopping Center in Fargo.[4] Thomas "Buck" Snortland was one of the company's founders.[5]

In 2003, the bank bought Northern Capital Trust, a trust company and flex spending adjudication business.[6] Richard Solberg, who was then the bank's president and CEO, had served on the board of directors for Northern Capital Trust since the company was established—16 years before the merger.[7]

Not long after the merger, Bell created a spin-off company called Discovery Benefits, which administers flexible benefits, COBRA and health savings accounts.[8] It is now one of the largest privately-owned third-party administrators in the country, and has been ranked among the fastest-growing health savings account administrators.[9] Bell also started Healthcare Bank, one of the largest health care savings account banks and a client of Discovery Benefits.[10] In January 2019, State Bankshares announced plans to sell Discovery Benefits for $425 million to Wex Inc., a South Portland, Maine-based payment processing and business solutions provider.[11]

In 2011, the company acquired Minneapolis-based Bell Mortgage, expanding its reach into the Twin Cities and Phoenix, Ariz.[12] The company changed its name from State Bank & Trust to Bell State Bank & Trust in 2012[13] and to Bell Bank in August, 2016.[14] In 2013, Bell acquired Minneapolis-based The Business Bank and its Prime Mortgage Division.[15] Bell Bank Mortgage expanded its offices into Wisconsin and New Mexico in 2018,[16][17] Florida, Missouri and Tennessee in 2019,[18][19] and Kansas in 2020.[20]

Bell launched an equipment finance division in Minneapolis in 2018, to serve the manufacturing, transportation, construction and agriculture industries.[21]

In January 2019, Bell signed a purchase agreement to buy Warner and Company Insurance in Fargo, Schiller Insurance in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, and Thompson-Schaefer Insurance Agency in Grand Forks, North Dakota[22]

Bell Bank opened its Chandler, Ariz., branch in January, 2019.

Bell opened its first full-service bank branch in Arizona—in the city of Chandler, Arizona—in January 2019.[23]

In 2020, Bell expanded into Forest Lake, Minn.,[24] and Duluth, Minn., renovating and occupying the downtown Temple Opera Building.[25]

Bell has a 5-star rating from Bauer Financial, an independent bank research firm. Based on financial data from federal regulators, a 5-star rating, the highest rating the firm awards, means a bank is financially sound and is operating well above its capital requirements.[26]

The company plans to remain privately owned.[27]

Leadership
Bell Bank President and CEO Michael Solberg speaks to employees.

Michael Solberg is Bell Bank's president, and the third CEO in the company's 50-year history.[28] He was named CEO in 2014, succeeding his father, Richard Solberg, who had been CEO since 1982.[29]

Michael Solberg was named chief operating officer in 2004[30] and president in 2009.[31] He started with the company in 1998 after graduating from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, and William Mitchell College of Law in Saint Paul, Minnesota.[32] He grew up in Finley, North Dakota, and Fargo.[33]

Richard Solberg is the board chairman and a company shareholder.[34] The bank is owned by about 70 shareholders, with a majority stake held by the families of Richard Solberg, Michael Solberg, Julie Snortland and Laura Snortland Fairfield.[35] Other major shareholders have included Thomas "Buck" Snortland[36] and his son, Thomas "Mickey" Snortland, both farmers from Sharon, North Dakota.[37]

Thomas "Mickey" Snortland, who was also a longtime director of the bank, died in 2013 of an apparent heart attack.[38]

Before working for what was then State Bank of Fargo, Richard Solberg was president of Citizens State Bank in Finley, where he grew up. He also graduated from Concordia College.[39] Under Richard Solberg's leadership, the bank grew from a single location with $28 million in assets to 20 branches in North Dakota and Minnesota with more than $3 billion in assets.[40]

NorthWestern Financial Review named Richard and Michael Solberg Bankers of the Year in 2012.[41]

Additional executive leadership includes: Blake Nelson, EVP/chief financial officer,[42] Julie Peterson Klein, EVP/chief culture officer,[43] Patrick Chaffee, EVP/banking and wealth management,[44] Todd Lee, EVP/banking and commercial lending administration,[45] Tony Weick, EVP/Bell Bank Mortgage president,[46] and Jesse Schwab, EVP/chief risk officer.[47]

Company culture

Several media outlets, including USA Today, People magazine and the BBC have written stories about Bell Bank's culture.[48] Bell Bank's mission statement is Happy Employees! Happy Customers![49] Michael Solberg says the bank's growth and profits are due to the way the company treats its employees.[50] In November 2016, Bell Bank announced that it would make an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) part of its employees' retirement benefits.[51] A portion of each employee's retirement funds will be invested in State Bankshares stock.[52]

References
  1. Forbes, June 26, 2018 https://www.forbes.com/companies/bell-bank/?list=best-in-state-banks#4bf8ba1d46f4
  2. Twin Cities Business, January 8, 2013 http://tcbmag.com/News/Recent-News/2013/January/Bell-State-Buying-Minnetonka-based-The-Business-Ba
  3. Twin Cities Business, December 17, 2014 http://tcbmag.com/News/Recent-News/2014/December/Son-Succeeding-Father-As-Bell-State-Bank-Trust-CEO
  4. The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, July 29, 2016 http://www.inforum.com/business/4083377-bell-state-bank-and-trust-simplifies-name
  5. The FM Extra, September 3, 2014 http://www.thefmextra.com/bob-buth-president-bell-state-bank/
  6. The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, February 2, 2012 http://www.inforum.com/content/solberg-father-son-named-2012-bankers-year
  7. The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, July 19, 2002 http://www.inforum.com/content/fargo-financial-institutions-join
  8. The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, February 2, 2012 http://www.inforum.com/content/solberg-father-son-named-2012-bankers-year
  9. "Discovery Benefits Ranks Number One in HSA Account Growth". PR.com. Retrieved 2018-06-07.
  10. The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, February 2, 2012 http://www.inforum.com/content/solberg-father-son-named-2012-bankers-year
  11. StarTribune, January 17, 2019 http://www.startribune.com/bell-bank-s-parent-company-sells-fargo-based-sister-company-for-425-million/504505032/
  12. Twin Cities Business, December 17, 2014 http://tcbmag.com/News/Recent-News/2014/December/Son-Succeeding-Father-As-Bell-State-Bank-Trust-CEO
  13. The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, July 23, 2012 http://www.inforum.com/content/state-bank-trust-buy-downtown-fargo-building
  14. The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, July 29, 2016 http://www.inforum.com/business/4083377-bell-state-bank-and-trust-simplifies-name
  15. Prairie Business Magazine, April 2, 2013 http://www.prairiebusinessmagazine.com/business/3965952-fargo-bank-buys-minneapolis-bank
  16. Bank Beat, Aug. 28, 2018 https://bankbeat.biz/bell-expands-in-wisconsin-with-mortgage-acquisition/
  17. Albuquerque Business First, May 3, 2019 https://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/news/2019/05/03/bell-bank-mortgage-open-new-mexico.html
  18. Orlando Magazine, July 10, 2020 https://www.orlandomagazine.com/leading-lenders-series-bell-bank-mortgage/?fbclid=IwAR3EP1pcv8iUCTJg80LByZUETc1Jukdrp0TOmu0fHncLsKTxYvOOkgu1VZI
  19. DS News, Sept. 18, 2018 https://dsnews.com/headline/09-18-2019/bell-bank-mortgage-appoints-regional-head
  20. Scotsman Guide, May 08, 2020 https://www.scotsmanguide.com/browse/content/power-moves-for-may-8
  21. Finance&Commerce, October 8, 2018 https://finance-commerce.com/2018/10/bell-bank-launches-equipment-finance-unit-in-minneapolis/
  22. The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, January 23, 2019 https://www.inforum.com/business/956900-Bell-Bank-to-purchase-Fargo-based-Warner-and-Company-Insurance-and-its-subsidiaries-in-Grand-Forks-and-Detroit-Lakes
  23. Chandler Chamber, January 31, 2019 http://business.chandlerchamber.com/events/details/ribbon-cutting-for-bell-bank-35901
  24. Bell Bank, July 2, 2020 https://www.bell.bank/News/Bell/Bell-Bank-Opens-New-Branch-in-Forest-Lake-MN#sthash.es5BKqra.dpbs
  25. Duluth News Tribune, March 10, 2020 https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/business/real-estate/4992058-Bell-Bank-renovating-moving-to-Duluth%E2%80%99s-Temple-Opera-Building
  26. Bauer Financial, January 30, 2019 https://www.bauerfinancial.com/star-ratings/?ref=#2-loadhere
  27. StarTribune, January 17, 2019 http://www.startribune.com/bell-bank-s-parent-company-sells-fargo-based-sister-company-for-425-million/504505032/
  28. Twin Cities Business, December 17, 2014 http://tcbmag.com/News/Recent-News/2014/December/Son-Succeeding-Father-As-Bell-State-Bank-Trust-CEO
  29. Twin Cities Business, December 17, 2014 http://tcbmag.com/News/Recent-News/2014/December/Son-Succeeding-Father-As-Bell-State-Bank-Trust-CEO
  30. Bush Foundation http://bmag.bushfoundation.org/buzz/who-michael-solberg%5B%5D
  31. Twin Cities Business, December 17, 2014 http://tcbmag.com/News/Recent-News/2014/December/Son-Succeeding-Father-As-Bell-State-Bank-Trust-CEO
  32. Valley News Live, December 17, 2014 http://www.valleynewslive.com/home/headlines/Bell-State-Bank--Trust-Names-New-CEO-286085881.html
  33. Valley News Live, December 17, 2014 http://www.valleynewslive.com/home/headlines/Bell-State-Bank--Trust-Names-New-CEO-286085881.html
  34. Twin Cities Business, December 17, 2014 http://tcbmag.com/News/Recent-News/2014/December/Son-Succeeding-Father-As-Bell-State-Bank-Trust-CEO
  35. http://www.inforum.com/business/4164963-bell-bank-offer-stock-ownership-plan-employees
  36. The FM Extra, September 3, 2014 http://www.thefmextra.com/bob-buth-president-bell-state-bank/
  37. Valley News Live, December 17, 2014 http://www.valleynewslive.com/home/headlines/Bell-State-Bank--Trust-Names-New-CEO-286085881.html
  38. The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, January 28, 2013 http://www.inforum.com/content/bell-state-bank-trust-majority-stockholder-dies
  39. Valley News Live, December 17, 2014 http://www.valleynewslive.com/home/headlines/Bell-State-Bank--Trust-Names-New-CEO-286085881.html
  40. Twin Cities Business, December 17, 2014 http://tcbmag.com/News/Recent-News/2014/December/Son-Succeeding-Father-As-Bell-State-Bank-Trust-CEO
  41. The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, February 2, 2012 http://www.inforum.com/content/solberg-father-son-named-2012-bankers-year
  42. Equipment Finance Advisor, Jan. 08, 2021 https://www.equipmentfa.com/news/31748/longtime-cfo-retires-at-bell-bank-cfo-and-controller-named
  43. The Grand Forks Herald, Feb. 25, 2017 https://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4224942-fargo-woman-has-seat-oscars-red-carpet
  44. The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, January 23, 2019 https://www.inforum.com/business/956900-Bell-Bank-to-purchase-Fargo-based-Warner-and-Company-Insurance-and-its-subsidiaries-in-Grand-Forks-and-Detroit-Lakes
  45. https://www.bellbanks.com/About/Our-People/Detail/Todd-D-Lee
  46. https://www.bellbanks.com/About/Our-People/Detail/Tony-Weick
  47. Monitor Daily, Nov. 11, 2020 https://www.monitordaily.com/news-posts/bell-bank-hires-schwab-as-chief-risk-officer/
  48. Bush Foundation https://www.bushfoundation.org/about-us/bio/michael-solberg
  49. The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, February 2, 2012 http://www.inforum.com/content/solberg-father-son-named-2012-bankers-year
  50. American Banker, August 25, 2015 http://www.americanbanker.com/news/community-banking/2015-best-banks-no-8-bell-state-bank-and-trust-1076242-1.html
  51. The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, November 23, 2016 http://www.inforum.com/business/4164963-bell-bank-offer-stock-ownership-plan-employees
  52. The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, November 23, 2016 http://www.inforum.com/business/4164963-bell-bank-offer-stock-ownership-plan-employees
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