Resurgence of small Nebraska towns comes at critical time

Young people have begun to come back to small towns in Nebraska, according to the officers of the Nebraska Bankers Association. It's been a challenge for small town banks to find the next generation of bankers and customers but the recession has brought young people home. This change has come at the right time, said Clark Lehr, president of the $178 million First Nebraska Bank in Columbus. Lehr was elected NBA chairman at the association's annual meeting held May 4 in the Omaha suburb of LaVista..Valley Bank & Trust Company of Scottsbluff, Neb., traditionally invested in employees only to have them leave the bank. "I just had an intern tell me he was moving on. We had run him through a training program and spent three years sending him through schools," said John Stinner, NBA chairman-elect and president of the $323-million bank. "I was going to move him out on the loan floor and he would have worked under me." Stinner turned to family to fill the open position, "I ended up bringing my son in," he said. "We used to be able to steal from the correspondent bankers but we've got a vacuum of young people trying to get into this profession, so we've got to grow our own.".The recession has eased the outflow of young people. Since other states have such high unemployment compared to Nebraska, small towns are seeing young people return. "In past years, the out-migration of population has certainly been felt in western Nebraska," Stinner said. But recently the trend has changed. "I have seen it reverse in the last four years. The kids are starting to come back, many of them are coming back to help their dads run their businesses," he said..NBA's partnership with the University of Nebraska, Lincoln and other colleges has been successful in attracting young people to the industry. "We offer scholarships for people who think banking might be a good place for them to be," Lehr said. By identifying interested candidates early, the NBA has brought new employees to the small town banks. "We provide [students] with internships to get into some of those smaller communities and it is working real well," he said..Technology, which the largest banks effectively use to attract younger depositors, now offers smaller banks the means to appeal to young customers. "Technology has made the difference," Lehr said. "If they grew up in Nebraska but live in Chicago they can still bank with us." Banks in Nebraska will need to obtain the products necessary to maintain these relationships. Lehr expects banks won't be long in offering photograph check deposit but he laments the loss of personal connection. "In the big picture, not having that personal connection is kind of sad," he said. Young people won't have that personal relationship with their hometown bank that can be helpful through hard times. "When customers find themselves in a difficult situation they need to have that relationship with somebody who can help. That's our job," he said..The association is now trying to change its education strategy to appeal to younger bankers. "Young bankers fresh out of college want electronic delivery," Lehr said. This delivery method offers large efficiency gains for mid-size banks that have a large footprint. Valley Bank & Trust has branches in Colorado and Nebraska. Some branches are on the Wyoming border, which is six and a half hours away from their main branch. "When you've got branches spread out, that's the way to deliver education," Stinner said. "I can get more people there with less cost."