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Wisconsin Community Banker
November/December 2014
CHANGING SCENE
September 30, 2014, Central Bank had
assets of approximately $1.2 billion,
operating 20 branches in the Minne-
apolis/St. Paul metropolitan area and
western Wisconsin plus two branches
in Florida. MidWestOne Bank had
assets of approximately $1.8 billion,
operating 25 branches in Iowa.
Central Bank’s western Wiscon-
sin branches are located in Hudson,
North Hudson, Osceola, Rice Lake,
and St. Croix Falls.
County Bancorp Files for
$23 Million IPO
MANITOWOC—County Bancorp,
a Wisconsin bank focused on dairy-
related lending with over $700 million
of assets, filed in November with the
SEC to raise up to $23 million in an
initial public offering. The company
plans to list on the NASDAQ under
the symbol ICBK.
Founded in 1996, the company
operates Investors Community Bank
and owns two locations in Manitowoc
and Stevens Point, along with loan
production offices in Darlington, Eau
Claire, and Fond du Lac.
First National
Community Bank Adds
Branch
NEW RICHMOND—In October, First
National Community Bank officially
grew from three physical bank loca-
tions to four, with the acquisition of the
Dresser location of Frandsen Bank &
Trust, based in Arden Hills, Minn.
Thomas Mews, president of First
National Community Bank stated,
“The Dresser location brings added
convenience to our customer base
which is primarily St. Croix, Polk, and
Pierce Counties.”
First National Community Bank
has assets of $185 million and addi-
tional full-service branches in Hud-
son, Somerset, and Dresser.
FNB Fox Valley Opens
Appleton Branch
APPLETON—First National Bank-
Fox Valley (FNB Fox Valley), opened
its new Appleton North branch on
Dec. 8. Located at 835 W. Northland
Ave. across from Northland Mall,
the branch offers full-service deposit,
mortgage, and commercial banking
functions, as well as a 24-hour ATM.
An official ribbon cutting and
grand opening ceremony will follow
in spring of 2015.
Established in 1887, FNB Fox Val-
ley has approximately $370 million in
assets. Its 81 employees work in FNB
Fox Valley’s offices in Neenah, Mena-
sha, Oshkosh, and Appleton.
Survey: 2015 Good for
Many State Businesses
MADISON—The results of the 12th
annual First Business Economic Survey
indicate a positive outlook for busi-
nesses in Dane County, the Greater
Milwaukee Area, and Northeast
Wisconsin. The survey focused on the
current year’s actual and next year’s
predicted sales revenue, total operating
costs, capital expenditures, profitabil-
ity, number of employees, changes in
wages, and changes in pricing.
“The results from this year’s survey
are positive in almost every way,” com-
mented Mark Meloy, president & CEO
of First Business Bank, speaking about
the Dane County survey. “The outlook
for 2015 is encouraging as well. I think
we can finally say the hangover from
the Great Recession is behind us.”
“The prevailing theme of this year’s
survey results is optimism: It’s opti-
mism about sales, profits, hiring —
precisely what we’ve all been hoping to
see for far too long,” stated Dr. Moses
Altsech, principal of Moses Altsech
Consulting, the firm that conducted
this year’s survey.
“Optimism in itself is a good thing,
because it has the potential to become
a self-fulfilling prophecy. But this is
beyond just an upbeat attitude; it’s
strongly optimistic predictions about
business performance after a long
period of caution and a “wait and see”
approach. That is very good news for
Dane County businesses, as well as
[for] everyone in Wisconsin!”
“I knew the results would be posi-
tive, but it surprised me just how posi-
tive they were,” agreed Mickey Noone,
president of the northeast region of
First Business Bank. “Businesses in
northeast Wisconsin are reporting
record-level sales and profitability, and
coupling that with strong optimism
about 2015. They’re reporting fur-
ther increases in sales, profits, hiring,
and wages. The outlook for 2015 is
strongly optimistic.”
Read the full First Business
Economic Survey Report at www.
firstbusiness.com/survey.
Compliance Program Highly Rated by Wisconsin Community Bankers
For the twelfth straight year CBW is sponsoring the Community Bankers for Compliance Program (CBC)
in 2014 with Young & Associates, a nationally recognized compliance consulting firm that specializes
in community banking. The CBC program is CBW’s most highly rated educational program.
The CBC program includes quarterly full-day seminars based on the most recent industry and regulatory developments, access to the Young & Associates
toll-free compliance hotline, and a CBC Members OnlyWeb site hosted by Young & Associates that provides timely compliance information and tools.
The quarterly compliance seminars offer peer networking and include a regulatory update and a comprehensive discussion of one or more compliance
regulations. Attendees receive a compliance manual each quarter that is generally in excess of 200 pages that can and is used as a reference to the changing
regulations and as a training manual for other employees.
If you have questions, contact:
Sandy Gruber at 608.833.2384,
or Rick McGuigan at 608.833.2382,
