I find your question to be very interesting, and given your preferences, am glad to report that Security First Bank is 100% domestically owned. In fact, we have a very small list of shareholders, nearly all of whom are Nebraskans and South Dakotans. My family, who are originally from Rushville, Nebraska, are the majority owners. We are a state bank, chartered in Nebraska. Our bank holding company, Stockmens Financial Corporation, is based in Rapid City, South Dakota, where my wife and I reside.
As a community bank, our deposits come primarily from local customers, and we make loans to individuals and businesses within our service areas. We are a fairly conservative bank, so have not strayed too far from our Nebraska and South Dakota roots.
Borrowing money to buy a home is a significant financial undertaking, and there are a number of things that both you and the bank need to take into consideration. My first advice to you is to contact a loan officer at your local Security First Bank either in person or over the phone. He or she will be able to directly answer your questions, and if you are interested and ready, they can start the application process with you.
To help you determine if obtaining a home loan is right for you, a loan officer will need to know your income and some other financial information about you. If you decide to begin the application process, be prepared to present a government-issued ID, proof of income (such as pay stubs and/or tax returns) and information on other assets, such as bank statements and retirement accounts.
Truly, your best, first course of action is to contact a loan officer. Or, if you prefer, the Federal government’s Housing and Urban Development (HUD) website, found at www.hud.gov, offers a wealth of information for potential homebuyers.
The answer to your question is yes, you can request an e-statement for your credit card.
You need to initiate the e-statement request online. Go to www.security1stbank.com, and under the Personal tab, choose Credit Card. Then choose the Security First Bank Credit Card link and you’ll be at our credit card site (or use this link to access the credit card site https://www.myaccountaccess.com/onlineCard/login.do). If you have not previously managed your credit card account online, you will need to register to do so. Once you have logged in to your credit card account online, go to the Transaction Details page, then on the left side of the screen, choose Alerts. From there, choose Set Up New Alerts, and you will see the option for e-statements, as well as several other Alert choices, such as payment reminders and activity notifications.
Thank you for asking a question that should be on most customers’ minds! Overall, Security First Bank is doing well, with solid earnings, a sound management team and a qualified board of directors.
As an employee and a major stockholder, I’m constantly assessing our performance and risk as it relates to our markets and the states in which we operate (Nebraska and South Dakota). Personally, I give little credence to peer group comparisons or bank regulator valuations, which are frequently used by the media and others to “rate” banks. Although they do provide some insight, they are not very timely or reliable in assessing risk. I prefer looking at our own numbers every day, talking to our lenders and managers, and paying attention to what is going on economically in our market areas.
Having said that, I am confident that we are operating a quality, safe and stable community bank that will be around for a long time. I appreciate your being a customer and taking the time to write to me.
Thank you for taking the time to ask me about our plans for branching in Lincoln. We have discussed adding a downtown location over the years, but thus far the right combination of timing, location and demand have not all come together. Unless we have the opportunity to purchase an existing branch from another bank, I don’t anticipate that we’ll be downtown in the near term.
The second part of your question is something I’d also like to address: The one-day delay in posting ATM deposits is something that we’ve had to adopt recently. A few bad apples spoiled the lot, as they say, and were making fraudulent deposits at ATMs, then withdrawing the cash they claimed to have deposited. Unfortunately, our only defense against that type of fraud is to verify the deposit the next business day, then credit the account. This has inconvenienced honest people like you, and we regret that it had to be done.
The fee you are charged to use an ATM that is not owned by us (Security First) is largely a pass-through charge. The company that owns the ATM and the company that processes the transaction both bill us when one of our customers uses their machine. A portion of that bill is passed along to you as a “foreign ATM fee.”
We have about 300 ATMs, and all of those can be used by our customers for free, with no limit on the number of transactions. We have pretty good coverage throughout Nebraska and southwest South Dakota, so if you live in a community with a Security First branch, there should be one of our ATMs nearby that you can use at no charge. We have all of our ATM locations listed on our website. Just look for the “ATMs” link on our home page, just above the stock ticker.
First, thank you for your question, and thank you for being a customer for so long. I understand your frustration with our not having a branch in Northwest Lincoln. We are always looking for the right location in that part of the city, but have not yet found one that works for us. Although I realize that having a branch bank is ultimatley the best way to serve our customers that corner of the city, for now we rely on having ATMs, including ones that accept deposits, and online banking.
I do hope you will continue to stay with us and be patient as we work to keep up with Lincoln’s expansion. We are at heart a small-community bank, meaning that we are committed to keeping branches open in the smallest of communities (like Martell, Clatonia and Blue Springs), sometimes at the expense of expanding our presence in larger ones.
The most positive changes to come about in my 30-plus years in banking are mostly related to technology improving the delivery of banking services. ATMs, 24-hour phone banking and certainly the Internet and online banking allow customers to access and manage their accounts well beyond the branch and traditional banking hours
On the more negative side, banking has become such an over-regulated industry that it is difficult to provide the level of personal service that was common in the community banks of 20 years ago. Certainly, regulation and oversight are important in ensuring that banks are well-run, but we’re nearing the point now where over-reaching regulations are creating barriers to service, ultimately hurting consumers and banks, in my opinion.
There is a lot of support in the banking industry to maintain the insured limit of $250,000 on accounts in FDIC insured banks. However, it is difficult to know how long it will last. Currently, the FDIC has extended what they considered the temporary coverage of $250,000 through December 31, 2013. The Transaction Account Guarantee Program that covers deposits in non-interest bearing accounts of any amount has been extended through June 30, 2010.
We allow each branch some latitude in setting their own CD rates, but by and large, we collectively manage the process through our Asset and Liability Committee. It is the responsibility of the Committee to analyze all aspects of the bank’s balance sheet and try to match up both the rates paid on CDs and rates earned on loans and bank investments.
The difference between those rates is calculated as a spread, more commonly referred to as our margin. The bank’s margin is what ultimately drives earnings, which are in turn evaluated by regulators and shareholders. In short, we try to strike a balance between a fair return to depositors and meeting required and expected earnings for the bank.
