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Independent Community Bankers of America, a national association that has represented community banks of all sizes and types since 1930, has named HOMEBANK one of the top 20 ag lending institutions for 2023. The article announcing the winners can be found at www.icba.org.
Using FDIC data for 2022, the ICBA calculated a lender score for each community bank. The score combines the average of the bank’s percentile rank for lending concentration and for loan growth over the past year. They then adjusted each score for loan charge-offs at certain percentile thresholds.
HOMEBANK was listed at number 15 among banks with assets of $300 million to $1 billion.
“As a community bank, we strive to make strategic lending decisions with the goal of helping our ag customers not only survive but thrive in all economic cycles,” says Angie Poppe, chief lending officer at HOMEBANK.
Like other top banks on the list, HOMEBANK focuses on strong relationship banking and lenders who understand the agricultural community because they have farming backgrounds.
“Farmers are business owners,” continues Poppe. “Our lenders partner with farmers and look at their entire operation to help them analyze current financials and cash flow, so they know when the time is right to expand or improve their operation.”
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HOMEBANK, Member FDIC, broke ground for a 4,500-square-foot facility at 3000 E Pitman Avenue in Lake Saint Louis on Wednesday, March 15. Trustee Byron Webb, Chief Executive Officer Joe Thomas and Community Bank President Tej Ghosh turned dirt during the ceremony at the construction site. Cissell Mueller Construction from St. Peters has been selected as the project contractor. Construction is expected to be completed before the end of 2023.
HOMEBANK currently operates a full-service bank at 2183 W Terra Lane in O’Fallon.
“Lake Saint Louis is a ‘planned community,’ meaning it was carefully developed by its founding fathers to make living there as convenient and enjoyable as possible. This new branch is a ‘planned’ bank, designed to make banking convenient and enjoyable,” said Thomas.
In addition to user-friendly online banking services and mobile app, HOMEBANK will offer an Interactive Teller Machine outside the building that will accept deposits and loan payments, disperse cash in specific bill denominations, and put customers in contact with live tellers during extended business hours. In the vestibule of the building, Smart Exchange digital lockers will allow customers to securely pick up documents after normal banking hours using a digital passcode. Inside, customers will get to speak with bankers from other HOMEBANK branches who are experts in a certain area of banking using the Maestro teleconference system.
“In this age of working parents and busy schedules, we are trying to find creative ways to better serve our customers,” said Thomas. “Banking when customers need it, how they need it.
“That said,” he continued, “we also believe that great customer service often needs to be delivered face-to-face, thus our investment in a new physical location. It’s difficult to trust your partner if you’ve never met them in person, sat in their office, and learned a little about them as a person. In all our communities, HOMEBANK branches and our employees are highly competent, friendly and welcoming to help reduce the anxiety that sometimes comes with big financial decisions.”
More information can be obtained by calling Community Bank President Tej Ghosh, Business Banker Jennifer Begley or Vice President for Retail Operations Kailee Saxbery at (636) 385-7165.
Photo courtesy of The Peoples Tribune
Customers in Bowling Green couldn’t wait. They just kept coming into the new HOMEBANK at 1108 US-61 Business before it was officially open. On April 4, the doors quietly opened and later that month, HOMEBANK officers, the Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce, and employees made it official and proudly announced “WE’RE OPEN!”
Each new HOMEBANK branch is designed with new technology and amenities specifically selected for customers of that branch. The Bowling Green branch features Smart Lockers in the vestibule so customers can drop off and pick up paperwork after hours. A special room has been added so customers can speak with HOMEBANK experts at other branches through the new Maestro software. And, for the first time, this HOMEBANK branch has a hitching station in the back so our Amish customers have a place to park their buggies. So unique!
Congratulations to Community Bank President Mary Dickey, Assistant Vice Presidents Halie Wyble and Katie Smith, and Customer Service Representatives Dana Portwood and Kirsten Buchanan. We’re so happy for you!
HOMEBANK is pleased to announce the following promotions:
Denneil Comstock of Palmyra, portfolio loan administrative assistant, has been promoted to Vice President. Since joining HOMEBANK in February of 2016, she has moved through multiple roles within the lending department that have contributed to her current success. Comstock is married and has two sons.
Karen O’Brien of Palmyra, loan officer, has been promoted to Vice President. O’Brien has a degree in respiratory therapy but made the transition to banking in June of 2017, starting at HOMEBANK as a loan processor. She was named a loan officer in 2020. O’Brien is married and has two sons.
Reann Redd of Palmyra, loan officer, has been promoted to Vice President. Born and raised in the Philadelphia area, Redd holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from Culver Stockton College. She started at HOMEBANK in 2012 as a Customer Service Representative before moving to the Loan Processing Department. She became a loan officer in 2019. Redd is married and has two sons.
Mary Smith of Palmyra, Mortgage/Consumer Department supervisor, has been promoted to Vice President. Smith was recruited to HOMEBANK in 2013 as a mortgage/consumer lender.
She assumed the responsibility of supervisor for the Mortgage/Consumer Loan Processing team in 2022. Smith has a bachelor’s degree in organizational management from Hannibal-LaGrange University. She is married and has two daughters.
Halie Wyble of Bowling Green, loan officer, has been promoted to Vice President. Wyble graduated from Missouri State University with a degree in ag business with an emphasis in finance management and was hired in November of 2017 as an ag lender. She became the lead for HOMEBANK’s Bowling Green branch when it opened in 2022. Wyble is married and has a son and twin daughters.
Connor Eling of Quincy, financial analyst, has been named Assistant Vice President. Eling joined HOMEBANK in 2019. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Eastern Illinois University in accounting and finance and works on liquidity management and investments for the Bank. Eling is married and has two daughters.
Annie Hoffman of Canton, accountant and payroll coordinator, has been named Assistant Vice President. Hoffman started at HOMEBANK as an intern in 2019 and has worked in various areas of the Bank, including the loan department, risk management, finance and the Webb Holding Company. She has a bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance and marketing and an MBA from Culver-Stockton College.
Each year, HOMEBANK employees choose a charity close to their hearts and organize fun events for six months to raise money to be donated to that entity. We have donated to Wounded Warriors, Buddy Pack programs, Honor Flight, CASA, St. Jude’s, our in-house emergency fund for employees, and recently, our local food pantries.
During the first half of 2022, employees raised $6,736.30 for local food pantries AND collected more than 1,800 nonperishable food items. The food items were distributed back in February, and this month, the cash will be split according to the size of the bank in each community. The following organizations will receive a slice of the pie: the Palmyra, Centralia, and O’Fallon Food Pantries, Quincy Neighborhood Federation, The Hope Center in Bowling Green, Canton Christian Church, Douglass Community Center in Hannibal and The Help Center in Mexico.
Another generous campaign is now complete, and we couldn’t be prouder of our employees.
