WORTHINGTON — A new full-service community bank will soon open in this community, thanks to both steady growth and the hiring of talented and experienced employees.
American Bank and Trust currently serves 13 communities in eastern South Dakota, and Worthington will be its 14th community and first in Minnesota. The financial institution is 129 years old, and has been family-owned for all of those years.
“We grew up as primarily an agriculture bank and have, since our entry into Sioux Falls in 2016, become a business- and ag-based organization,” American Bank and Trust President and CEO Doug Tribble said in an interview last week. “Worthington fits us perfectly, as it’s a strong business community and strong in agribusiness and fits our profile.”
Along with the Worthington market, Tribble is also enthusiastic about the personnel that will be working for American Bank and Trust in its newest branch.
“The reason we're in Worthington is we found a great banking team to join our organization,” he said. “Doug (Tuin, market president in Worthington) has filled his staff very quickly with veteran bankers. We're very excited because of the team we've been able to hire, and our business is really about both the people who work for us and our customers.”
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American Bank and Trust, Tribble said, makes it a priority to do all it can for its patrons.
“When you look at the difference between corporate banks and community banks, we definitely fill that community bank spot,” he stated. “We feel there are many advantages that people in communities have from those community banks. Quite honestly, a lot of the corporate banks have seen COVID as an opportunity to close branches and limit banking services, but we’re expanding our services — this is the third branch we’re opening during COVID.
“The other thing that will benefit the community is local decision making and the quick turnaround time in our decisions,” Tribble continued. ““With our product offerings, we work to be
as flexible with our customers as we can depending on what their needs are.”
“Our ability to be creative and nimble is what sets us apart,” added Kevin Petoske, American Bank and Trust’s chief growth officer.
Tuin will lead American Bank and Trust’s Worthington branch after spending the past decade with Bank of the West. Most of that time was spent at that bank’s Windom branch, and he most recently worked in Lakefield and then in Worthington.
A resident of Fulda, Tuin will have 7.5 employees at the new Worthington bank, including tellers, personal bankers and loan officers. He’s happy to be a part of American Bank and Trust and the Worthington team he’s compiled.
“I was hooked from day one just because of the corporate values and actually being able to take care of people,” Tuin said of American Bank and Trust. “The customer is always number one.
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“I hired the Bank of the West manager from Windom, Tom Wilde, who is an ag and commercial lender,” Tuin noted, describing the employees joining him at the new bank. “And we also have Scott Jorgensen, who worked at Bank of the West as an ag and commercial lender; he's a part-time farmer as well. We also hired Julie Pater, who worked at Fulda Area Credit Union for many years, as a retail and mortgage manager.”
American Bank and Trust has joined the Worthington Area Chamber of Commerce, and a ribbon-cutting event will take place at a later date. The bank will be located at 724 Oxford St., most recently home to Shining Fame Performance Dance Studio.
“That’s going to be our short-term home … we’ve completely gutted it inside, and it’s all framed up,” said Tuin, who in the meantime has been working from home and already opening new accounts for customers. The bank will be open to the public soon, he said.
“We’re going to have this until we’re bursting at the seams and then we’re going to find a building site,” Tribble added.
American Bank and Trust, a full-service bank offering retail, mortgage and ag services along with wealth management, employs 155 people across its 14 locations. It has $1.25 billion in total assets.
