2013 Rising Stars in Banking: Chris Conrad

Lending has grown substantially at First Bank & Trust's fledgling wealth management division due to the tireless work of Chris Conrad..When Conrad joined the Sioux Falls, S.D., bank, it had opened its wealth management division just two years prior, with the intention of growing the business by serving doctors and health professionals from the two major hospital systems in the Sioux Falls area. But other banks were already well established in the market and First Bank & Trust faced stiff competition from Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank and midsized banks from day one..Yet, today, Conrad has grown private bank lending to parity with the largest banks in the market. When asked how he has accomplished so much, he insists there's no secret sauce; he uses a proven tool in community banking: service..Conrad came to First Bank & Trust with six years of experience in wealth management at Wells Fargo. Having graduated from South Dakota State University in Madison with a degree in economics in 2002, the Millbank, S.D., native began his career in customer service for the large bank. Working his way up to become a personal banker, he completed licensure to sell life insurance, annuities and health insurance; then he moved into business banking. In 2007, he completed a master's of business administration degree at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion..When he moved to First Bank & Trust in 2008, Conrad came with experience in the documentation and compliance processes that go into closing a loan. But he also had learned the customer shortcomings of a large bank's processes. For example, while working in customer service at Wells Fargo, Conrad often received requests from lenders for copies of customer documents. While it was technically the customer service department's job to answer these requests, the lender who put in the request could have gotten the customer what they needed in 10 minutes. Instead, the customer had to wait a few hours as the customer service department worked through its request queue..Experiences like this created Conrad's motto. "Don't pass the little things on when you can do them yourself," he said. "When I can do these little things, the customer sees me, the salesman, personally providing a small added value and a quick turn around on a small request. Why make the customer wait for customer service when I could get it to them right now?".First Bank & Trust's investment in new technology and systems has allowed Conrad to take his approach to the next level. With the advent of the computer tablet, the bank has purchased software upgrades to make all its systems available on an iPad. The additional computing power has given Conrad the ability to take his customer service efforts even further..In one case, a customer traveling in Europe forgot to authorize their card for travel. Conrad, who has his work voicemail forwarded to his smart phone, helped them get their card working again, even though it was the middle of the night..In his time at Wells Fargo, Conrad also saw the downside of what he calls the "wait and pray" approach to closing a loan. "I would interact with the customer, collecting all the documentation and then I would submit the request in the system, waiting to see if I could deliver the needed funds to the customer," he said. "Here, I am empowered to make decisions. If the customer needs a loan for $50,000 and I have access to their information, I don't enter it into a system and wait. We get the loan done in a day rather than the three weeks it takes anywhere else. Even if it's a big deal we have the quickest turnaround for the customer. That's one benefit of working in private banking for a small bank.".Conrad also is a team player and involves himself in operations of the bank. While he sits on the second floor of the bank, away from the rest of the lenders, he doesn't silo himself off. Instead he involves himself with other lenders and loan activity outside his department, serving as a voting member of the loan committee and often tag teaming with a commercial lender to provide financing to a business owner.."Chris's main source of business is his customers," said Brian Thompson, president of the $549 million bank. "But, he also generates business through other lenders at the bank. If a commercial lender has a relationship with a business, Chris finds ways to serve the business's owners in addition to the business's needs.".The result for First Bank & Trust has been rapid growth in lending and deposits. Today the private banking department has $38 million in deposits and $18 million in personal loans, compared to the $5.5 million in deposits and $1 million loans it had when Conrad started four years ago. And, that doesn't count the loans he has referred to other parts of the bank.."When I hired Chris I knew he was a positive, clean cut guy with all the basic knowledge of banking," Thompson said. "Now, his responsiveness has made him instrumental in the success of our private banking concept."Other 2013 Rising Stars in Banking include: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.Matthew Howrey, North Salem State Bank, North Salem, Ind.