2009 Rising Stars in Banking: Amy Thiede

Something wasn't quite right. Amy Thiede was working in an accounting office at a publishing company. She liked the company but missed working with customers from her community, as she had done in a college job at a big Illinois bank..Then a former colleague from that bank called Thiede. The colleague, Dianna Torman, had taken a job as the senior credit officer at Prairie Community Bank in Marengo, Ill., and wanted to know whether Thiede would consider joining the team. (Torman has since become president and CEO.)."I loved working with the customers and I missed that when I was working at the publishing company," Thiede said. She went to work as a loan specialist at Prairie six years ago and advanced quickly through the loan department. She became the bank's retail supervisor and then moved into the new position of consumer development officer..Today, Thiede is responsible for all mortgage and consumer lending. She supervises the personal bankers and credit administration staff. And, as her title indicates, she spends a lot of time developing customer relationships.."I'm looking for the full relationship, because that's what's important," Thiede said. "Get their checking, savings, CD, mortgage loan, car loan—get that entire relationship; that is my main focus as the consumer development officer.".Thiede said the key is to show kindness, respect and a willingness to help customers every step of the way. Some customers seek Thiede's help in balancing their checkbooks or prioritizing their household expenses. Thiede is happy to offer the assistance and sees it as a personal expression of the bank's culture, which is customer-centric and locally focused.."When you have a question about your mortgage you call me. You don't have to call a corporate office and go through an automated system," Thiede said. "Our decisions are made here… We don't have to send it to downtown Chicago and get back to you in five weeks.".Thiede rounded out her front-line lending experience with additional course work and the six-hour exam needed to become a certified community lender through the Community Bankers Association of Illinois. She also completed the association's two-year community bankers' school and is serving a term as chair of the school's subcommittee for planning and curriculum, a role to which she was elected by her classmates..Beside her responsibilities as consumer development officer, Thiede leads the bank's compliance practices.."It has nothing [directly] to do with customers, so it's completely opposite of what I'm used to. I like that challenge; it's a variation," she said.."Under Amy's leadership we have been able to maintain excellent documentation and tracking for all of our compliance needs and have successfully completed all of our risk assessments for all regulations," said Steven Mortensen, executive vice president at Prairie Community Bank. "Without Amy taking the lead, we would have had difficulty achieving this in the timeframe she was given."."Compliance has always been a very important aspect of our training here," Thiede said. "The focus is even greater as new regulations come out," such as updates to RESPA and Regulation C. Thiede said the regulatory revisions resulted from the crisis in mortgage markets and are due to go into effect at various times this year..When Thiede isn't leading consumer lending or compliance efforts at the bank, she spends much of her time working with community groups..She is treasurer of Marengo Main Street, Inc., a nonprofit designated by the statewide Illinois Main Street program. The group focuses on preserving historic buildings and supporting businesses along the two-and-a-quarter block commercial corridor in downtown Marengo. She also volunteers with the local Chamber of Commerce and the Marengo Union girls' softball organization..Again, she sees her personal efforts as an expression of the bank's culture.."We do a lot in our community," she said. "We're very much community oriented."Other 2009 Rising Stars in Banking include:David Wittenberg, United Prairie Bank, Mankato, Minn.Brad Koehn, F&M Bank, West Point, Neb.Mike Stratton, Better Banks, Bartonville, Ill.Greg Vetter, American Bank Center, Bismarck, N.D.Lisa Artz, Choice Financial Group, West Fargo, N.D.Barbara Finney, MidWestOne Bank, Oskaloosa, IowaAnthony Gambaiani, Jackson County Bank, Seymour, Ind.