2025 Outstanding Women in Banking: McKinzie Hopkins

Fourth gen banker sets example for ‘rising to meet any challenge’ Less than one year after McKinzie Hopkins joined Sioux Falls, S.D.-based CorTrust Bank, representing its fourth generation of family leadership, the bank announced it would acquire First Minnesota Bank. That deal would increase CorTrust’s presence in the Northstar State to 15 branches from four. As a newbie at CorTrust, “I remember going into that due diligence being like, ‘Why am I here? What do you want from me?’” she recalled. .What Hopkins discovered was that her six years at one of the Big Four accounting firms positioned her for success in that task, and all the ones that would follow. Hopkins, executive vice president of credit administration for the bank’s Minnesota market, is being honored by BankBeat as a 2025 “Outstanding Women in Banking.”From a credit perspective, Hopkins says a company’s financials tell a story. “I knew how to analyze our customers,” she said. “I knew how to analyze credit, and that really was a great stepping stone for me to be able to learn the rest of everything else about the bank.”Growing up the oldest of three in a family where Dad, Grandpa and Great-grandpa had all been bankers, she equated the bank with all that was fun in life: the candy stash and the parades. The family rule for members of each subsequent generation that wanted to work at CorTrust was that you had to work elsewhere first, for at least four years. After earning her accounting and law degrees, Hopkins found a happy home at Deloitte, focused mostly on tax consulting. She said she would still be at Deloitte if her father, Jack Hopkins, the bank’s president and CEO, who also serves as 2025-26 chair of the Independent Community Bankers of America, had not asked her to come home to the bank. She admitted to being hesitant at first. She didn’t know enough about banking, she told him.His response was that she knew more than she thought she did. Not only could she analyze credits, she could lead and mentor and was willing to take on the necessary education that would fill any of the gaps. This past summer, Hopkins graduated with honors from the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Colorado-Boulder. The heavy lifting that accompanies any acquisition, especially one the scale of the First Minnesota deal, with accompanying core conversion and culture alignment, quickly gave way to covid uncertainty and the need to spin up a PPP program, which she managed for the entire bank. CorTrust now operates 37 branches plus one loan production office, in two states. For a self-described “numbers person” the years since covid have been a blur, almost a “trauma” response when she reflects, she said. Still, she continually taps into lessons honed at Deloitte to help her manage and be a mentor. “When I got to Deloitte, [with its requirement to lead] I was like, ‘I'm not a teacher; that's not the way I am’,” she recounted. “It turns out that's one of my favorite parts of the job, because being able to teach other people your knowledge also solidifies that knowledge for you.”Ongoing learning opportunities has Hopkins serving on multiple committees: IT, retirement, credit card, trust and compliance. “My law degree has actually really set me up well to be involved in our compliance committee,” she said. She also serves on the leadership committee for ICBA, as chair of the services committee for BankIn Minnesota, which means she also has a seat on that association’s board. Additionally, she is a member of the Bank Holding Company Association’s board. “I definitely keep myself busy.”As one who serves her bank from the inside, Hopkins said she has “found herself” at CorTrust. “I am very open with my team.” Open to helping not only the people who directly report to her, but anyone at the bank. “Being accessible to my team all the way down to the frontline staff is really important to me,” Hopkins said. She considers herself “well versed” in the CorTrust culture. “I grew up in it. I know how my family operates and how my dad operates.” That puts Hopkins in the prime spot to teach that culture and make it something that's positive for employees. She finds it gratifying to see individuals grow and develop and move up in their careers. “We always try to promote from within when possible, because that's how you keep people happy and loyal to the company, and you create a really healthy culture where people don't just get stuck in their box, and that's all they're ever expected to do,” Hopkins said. And when the bank cannot promote from within, they’ve gotten creative to find prospects who bring the right people skills. “I think we operate eight branches in towns with less than 500 people,” she said. “You do the best you can and hope that they learn and grow and really like this new job opportunity.”CorTrust promises its employees a “family first” culture, Hopkins said, which provides people who need it with flexible hours and the ability to be present for family as needs arrive. The 38-year-old Hopkins, who is expecting a child in January, understands the importance of letting people know their family comes first. When she was a child, that approach manifested itself as seeing her dad at every sport or school function.When Hopkins joined CorTrust in 2018 after her dad nudged and her mom reassured her that she could leave if she didn’t like it, diverging paths opened for her: She could become a loan officer and work with customers, or she could focus on credit management and work internally. Most critical to everyone’s future, Jack Hopkins told his eldest, was to “know credit really well.” That was what was needed for success in community banking. “I do like fostering relationships with people and building that side of things,” Hopkins said. “But I am a numbers nerd. I like supporting people internally. I'm not a natural born salesperson.“I will excel in the management of people and the underlying numbers and how to run a bank day to day,” Hopkins concluded. “I know myself well enough to know that it’s this side of the business where I belong.”