They’ve survived droughts and flood and volatile commodity prices. They take advantage of technological advances, from bigger equipment to better seeds and fertilizers, to make their farms more efficient and increase their crop yields.
Like the majority of their customers, most of the people of BTC Bank are tied directly or indirectly to agriculture. “We are an ag bank,” says Doug Fish, president and CEO. “Many of our loan officers and other employees, as well as our board members, are farmers or livestock producers. They walk the walk and talk the talk because they’re doing the same thing a lot of our customers do.”
Founded in September 1919 as Bethany Trust Company, BTC Bank is growing and thriving, with more than $500 million in assets as of January 2020. “We’ve lived through the Great Depression, the Ag Crisis of the 1980s and, most recently, the Great Recession of 2007-2008,” Fish says. “We’ve adapted and evolved and become stronger as the banking industry has been repeatedly transformed as a result of these events.”
Still, the century-old bank remains as committed as ever to its founding values of personal customer service and sound banking practices.
“Twenty years ago, we were one bank in one community, Bethany, Missouri,” Fish says. Today, BTC Bank has 12 branches in 12 communities in north central Missouri and south central Iowa. It is actively looking for opportunities to open additional branches in similar communities. At the same time, customers also have access to online banking, a mobile app and other “big bank” technologies.
Fish credits the bank’s exceptional longevity and success first and foremost to its employees, many of whom have been with the organization for 30 years or longer, and to its board of directors. “Customers really like coming to the bank and seeing a lot of the same people they’ve been seeing for many years,” he says.
“And, as agriculture producers themselves, our employees and board members understand our customers’ challenges and opportunities firsthand and have the expertise to help with them.”
Neighbors Helping Neighbors
According to Fish, community service, much of it focused on helping young people, is a cornerstone of BTC Bank’s mission. The bank and its employees donate their time, expertise and money to a wide range of causes in the cities in which they live and work, from serving on school boards, city councils, boards of education and industrial development groups, to supporting YMCAs and other service organizations. Fish notes that money deposited with BTC is reinvested back into the communities it serves and provides many opportunities for their people.
Hometown Hospitality
Fish says he will never forget the first time he set foot in a BTC Bank. “The way they’re designed, with a lot of oak wood and trim, you’re not walking into a building with white walls and glass like an institution. You feel like you’re walking into someone’s home,” says Fish, who grew up in the Bethany area and joined BTC Bank as president and CEO seven years ago. “Then there’s the warm feeling you get from our employees and the friendly way they greet you. That will never change, no matter how big we get or how many new branches we open.”
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