2013 Rising Stars in Banking: Matthew Howrey

With the help of a mentor, Matt Howrey has evolved into a committed community banker from his early career days as a regulator. Howrey, 34, is president of North Salem State Bank in North Salem, Ind..Born and raised in Plainfield, Ind., Howrey graduated from Indiana University in Bloomington, Kelley School of Business in 2002, with a bachelor's of science degree in business administration. He went to work as a bank examiner for the Indiana Department of Financial Institutions. While there he earned a master's of business administration degree from the Indiana University in Indianapolis, graduating in 2006..North Salem State Bank had many examiners through its doors over the years, but for John Colvin, who was president of the bank until 2010 and now is chairman, Howrey stood out. "Matt examined our bank a few times. He was an unusual examiner," Colvin said. "He was very sharp and tough; but he also was very fair.".In 2008, Howrey returned a call from North Salem State Bank and happened to connect with Colvin. The two struck up a conversation. When Colvin heard Howrey, who has two children, was looking for a job with less travel, he offered him a job. Howrey accepted over the phone..Howrey joined the bank as chief financial officer. Colvin hired Howrey to bring a better credit culture at the bank; he also wanted the young banker to work through problem loans. But ultimately, he wanted Howrey to be the next president of the bank. Before Colvin retired, the two had a meeting every morning at 5:30. "John would listen to my plans for dealing with workout loans or for a new loan. He'd always give me his opinion, but then he'd let me decide what I wanted to do," Howrey recalled..They hit it off from the start. Colvin still enjoys a running joke from Howrey's first year at the bank. During his time as an examiner Howrey had told the bank it needed to charge off a loan. "When Matt came to the bank, we collected the entire loan that next year," Colvin laughed. "We still won't let him forget about it.".After Howrey came to the bank, past-due loans as a percentage of the bank's total loans dropped below 2 percent by 2009, down from 6 percent a year earlier..Howrey credits Colvin with a substantial part of his industry education, particularly in the area of understanding a banker's commitment to his community. "John really was an awesome mentor. He had to beat community banking into me a bit, but he really taught me how to treat the community and the public," Howrey said..Colvin doesn't think he taught Howrey everything about community banking. A woman who had a small mortgage with the bank was struggling to make payments, Colvin recalled. "Matt and I went to visit her about the loan and she kept the house very well, it was immaculate. I remember I was being too hard on her. So, Matt pulls me aside and says, 'John can't we rewrite this for her and help her out. Look at how well she has kept the place.' We rewrote the note to help her out, and she paid us back a few years later," Colvin said..When Colvin retired and Howrey became president in 2010 at the age of 31, the young banker showed he knew how to grow the bank. In three years, North Salem State Bank has grown by $26 million to $183 million in assets. The bank also is in its fifth straight year of increased earnings. Last year the bank set a record, earning $1.4 million..As an ag bank, its earnings reflect the strong ag economy, Howrey said. But the bank also has found success from a marketing campaign created by Colvin and expanded by Howrey. For years before Howrey became president, North Salem State Bank would deliver ham sandwiches to farmers as they worked in their fields in the spring and fall..Howrey saw the idea worked. When he became president he ramped up the tradition into a campaign that stretched across the bank's four-county footprint. "We made an adventure out of it," he said. "We bought several hundred hitch pins with our logo on them and drove out to the farmers' fields, delivering the pins and the sandwich to them in their tractor. We even learned you shouldn't drive across a bean field. At least the farmer felt like he had to give us his business after we popped a tire trying to get him his sandwich.".The young president also has built the bank's staff for more growth, having hired 17 additional employees since 2010, some of whom will start at the bank's new location in Lebanon, Ind., this month..Colvin couldn't be more pleased with his choice of successor. "Matt may be the best young banker I have ever come across," he said. "You'll see things out of him in years to come."Other 2013 Rising Stars in Banking include:Chris Conrad, First Bank & Trust, Sioux Falls, S.D.Karen Brekke, Frandsen Bank & Trust, East Grand Forks, Minn.Ty Lucas, Nebraskaland National Bank, North Platte, Neb.James Klein, Cedar Rapids Bank & Trust, Cedar Rapids, IowaKorey Schow, Bank of Keystone, Neb.Christie Obenauer, Union State Bank, Hazen, N.D.Jeff Gilbert, Frontenac Bank, St. Charles, Mo.