32
Wisconsin Community Banker
July/August 2014
CHANGING SCENE
Park Bank Opens New
Branch
MADISON—Park Bank held a grand
opening at its 12th branch in June.
The branch, 4050 University Ave., is
located within the Shoppes of Walnut
Grove mall on the city’s near west
side. Branch manager Cristie Hansen,
a 10-year bank industry veteran, also
oversees the nearby Hilldale Shopping
Center branch, which employs seven
full-time and two part-time associates.
In addition to consumer deposit
and lending solutions, the new
2,400-square-foot branch offers mort-
gage and business expertise, a drive-in
lane, walk-up ATM, self-service coin
counter, and free Wi-Fi. Park Bank
employees provide a personal touch
by showcasing product demonstra-
tions on tablets and large monitors to
educate clients on how to use products
and services such as online banking
and Park Bank smartphone apps. A
large screen TV displays current pro-
motions, staff biographies, and current
news. The branch itself extends the
bank’s “caring before calculating”
philosophy, offering a small children’s
play area, free coffee, free popcorn on
Fridays, and a conference room that
can be used for community meetings.
Name Change for
Manitowoc Holding
Company
MANITOWOC—At the May board
meeting, shareholders approved the
name change of First Manitowoc
Bancorp Inc. to Bank First National
Corporation. “The company’s board
of directors and management team
agreed the name change … will bet-
ter align with the bank’s name, the
company’s ticker symbol, and will
be less confusing to our customers
and potential investors outside of the
Manitowoc County market,” said Mike
Molepske, president and CEO in a
news release.
The bank has 12 locations in
Manitowoc, Brown, Sheboygan, and
Winnebago counties.
Construction at
Cornerstone
GRAFTON—Cornerstone Com-
munity Bank is building a replica of
the bank’s logo as part of the second
phase of its construction project at its
Grafton headquarters. In this phase,
the old bank building located at 2072
Wisconsin Ave. will be torn down and
replaced by parking, landscaping, and
a new pavilion designed in the shape
of the bank’s logo.
The new space will provide an
event space for community and non-
profit groups and is intended to be the
heart of the bank’s campus.
The bank has locations in Fox Point
and Menomonee Falls in addition to
its Grafton headquarters.
National Social Media
Winners
Equitable Bank in Wauwatosa and
PyraMax Bank in Greenfield, are
social media trailblazers, according to
ICBA. For the second year, ICBA has
compiled a list of Top 50 Community
Bank Social Media Leaders and Top
25 Community Banker Influencers on
Twitter.
The banks were chosen based on
fan and follower engagement, content
delivered, number of fans and fol-
lowers, and the frequency of updates.
Equitable has more than 20,000
followers on Facebook and is also
on Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
PyraMax has nearly 4,000 Facebook
followers and is also on Twitter and
LinkedIn.
AnchorBank’s Building
Project Expands
MADISON—The plan to revamp
AnchorBank’s downtown office on
Madison’s Capitol Square just got
more ambitious.
The redevelopment of the nine-
story headquarters building at West
Main and South Carroll streets is
intended to modernize and expand
it. New plans include demolishing
the bank’s seven-story parking garage
across the street from the bank and
Survey Gives Insight into Customer Feelings
If you want to know how people
feel about your bank, just ask them.
That’s been the course of action for
First National Bank of Niagara ever
since it launched its website that
included a survey in 2004. “We want
to know if people are happy with
our service and the people employed
here,” said Karin Gardipee, executive
vice president, “and if they want us to
offer new products.”
The website features a 10-question
survey that invites customers to share
their thoughts on the bank and its
staff. Sample questions include reasons
for selecting the Niagara bank, qual-
ity of staff interactions, information
requests on products and services, and
a subtle nudge for those with Internet
access to consider banking online. The
survey, which gathers demographic
data including name, email address,
phone, and date, also contains room
for comments.
Customers can print out the survey
or fill it out
online. “We
do receive
quite a few
of them.
They seem
to be more
prevalent in
the spring.”
Several employees including Gardi-
pee receive and read the surveys.
“We’ve learned that our employees are
taking good care of our customers.”
Although the bank recently launched
“mobility” banking, the survey did not
drive that new product decision.
Future plans include expanding the
number of questions.
First National Bank of Niagara
has $67 million in assets, $57 million
in deposits, and a loan portfolio of
$31 million. There are 26 employees
working at the Niagara headquarters
and branches in Florence, Aurora, and
Spread Eagle.
