BankNorth

September 2018 Business of the Month

BankNorth

Values-Based Banking. Always. 

              Honesty, loyalty and integrity. Values like these have driven BankNorth since the beginning.          

              For nearly 115 years, the Arthur, N.D.-based bank’s owners and employees have been serving individuals, families and businesses while supporting and improving communities where the bank has branches. BankNorth offers a wide range of financial products and services, like savings and checking accounts; personal, business and farm and ranch loans; and internet-based solutions like online banking and bill pay, mobile check deposit, remote deposit capture. Nearly everything that can be accomplished at one of its branch locations can also be done on its mobile app.

“If you want to boil it down to one thing, I think our deep commitment to supporting people and our communities is what really sets us apart,” BankNorth President James L. Williams III said. “Our customers are also our neighbors, so we understand what it means – and what it takes – to maintain our quality of life and way of life.”

Community involvement has been a key since the company was founded as First State Bank or Arthur in 1905. As just one example, BankNorth donates thousands to local Dollars for Scholars programs every year. Its employees are also community leaders in their own right, donating hundreds of hours to volunteering, serving on committees and holding offices on school and civic boards.

It’s community commitment is probably best illustrated by the banking crisis of the early 1930s, when banks in all 48 states closed or placed restrictions on how much money depositors could withdraw. Then, and throughout the Great Depression, First State Bank of Arthur made sure all demands were met and customers never lost money deposited in the bank.

Over the years, the family-owned, locally operated bank expanded through acquisitions in southeastern North Dakota towns, and in 1992 it became First State Bank of North Dakota (FSBND). FSBND became BankNorth in 2018 when it acquired First State Bank of Warner, a community bank in South Dakota. BankNorth now has 10 branches, in Arthur, Buffalo, Casselton, Enderlin, LaMoure, Lisbon, Marion and Oakes in North Dakota, and Aberdeen and Warner in South Dakota.