2009 Rising Stars in Banking: Mike Stratton

Mike Stratton decided he liked the community banking attitude and approach when he was interviewing for his first job out of college. He interviewed at bigger banks too, but decided to start his career at what are now called Better Banks, based in Bartonville, Ill. That was 16 years ago..Stratton questioned his decision at first, at least occasionally. "I really didn't have aspirations of being a check sorter or a courier coming out of college," he said. But Stratton was expected to learn each area of the bank so he could manage effectively as his career progressed..The broad base of experience helped Stratton develop a reputation as an officer who leads by example. It also helped him tackle a range of projects and growth initiatives..In his role as vice president and manager of the Better Banks branch in Knoxville, Ill., Stratton has presided over a 44 percent rise in loan asset value during the last four years. Core deposits rose by 13 percent in the same period..He also played a key role in integrating three separate banks under the Better Banks banner, a consolidation that began five years ago. He supervised the renovation of locations in Dunlap and Wyoming, Ill., as well as the installation of two new ATM locations.."Anytime you start a new project there's always some interesting hurdle you have to go over to get the project completed," Stratton said..Case in point, a stand-alone ATM location scheduled for installation in a leased parking lot. The department of transportation wanted to be reassured that 12 to 15 cars could safely line up at the ATM, an occurrence that would have been highly unusual. Nevertheless, Stratton had to come up with plans for reconfiguring the parking lot, which in turn had to be approved by the lot owner.."It caused us to have a lot more people involved with what should have been a pretty basic project," Stratton said. "But it's a success story. It has been a great location for us.".Regarding his bank's financial performance, Stratton said that loan growth has been driven in part by a home-building boom around North Peoria. But much of the success comes from the bank's "strong framework" of procedures and policies, he said.."People look to us to give guidance in some cases," Stratton said. "As professionals we need to show shortcomings in a particular file, if there are shortcomings, and point out areas that need to be different or better, so that customers don't get themselves in trouble down the road.".Stratton said that beside this careful consultative approach to lending, the bank offers "second-to-none customer service," which drives referral business..Home mortgages make up much of the portfolio, and refinancing activity has surged, Stratton said.."We're seeing a lot of customers coming from the big-box banks; they like the local flavor; they like being able to come in and see the person they're dealing with," he said..Customers who come in for one product are then introduced to a range of relevant products and services. The personal attention and professional persistence often lead to deeper relationships. "There's a fair amount of follow up that goes into these deals," Stratton said. "Oftentimes we'll find that just that second or third phone call is enough to have them say, 'I'm ready to make a switch.'".Outside the bank, Stratton and his family and co-workers like to support the Peoria location of Midwest Food Bank, which collects large donations of food from corporations and distributes them to social service organizations and natural disaster sites.."Once a month, one of our employees coordinates a work night. We get 10 to 20 employees, and we fill boxes and help sort food," Stratton said. "Oftentimes we'll have dinner together and then work for a few hours in the evening. It's really a great thing to have your coworkers working together, and people feel really good about the work. They're helping people who are truly having a very difficult time."Other 2009 Rising Stars in Banking include:David Wittenberg, United Prairie Bank, Mankato, Minn.Brad Koehn, F&M Bank, West Point, Neb.Amy Thiede, Prairie Community Bank, Marengo, 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.