![]() | A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject.(November 2023) |
![]() | |
![]() Bell Bank headquarters in Fargo, North Dakota | |
Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Banking, Financial services, Mortgage, Insurance |
Founded | 1966 |
Headquarters | , |
Key people |
|
Number of employees | 2,000 |
Website | bell |
Bell Bank is a privately owned bank headquartered in Fargo, North Dakota, [1] with assets of $13 billion. [2] Bell Bank, which employs more than 1,900 people, [3] has 27 full-service banking locations in North Dakota, Minnesota and Arizona, [4] and mortgage locations in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Kansas, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, North Dakota, Tennessee and Wisconsin. [5] State Bankshares is Bell Bank's parent company. [6]
Bell Bank was founded as State Bank of Fargo in 1966 [7] as a single location in the Northport Shopping Center in Fargo. [8] Thomas "Buck" Snortland was one of the company's founders. [9]
In 2003, the bank bought Northern Capital Trust, a trust company and flex spending adjudication business. [10] Richard Solberg, who was then the bank's president and CEO, had served on the board of directors for Northern Capital Trust since the company was established—16 years before the merger. [11]
Not long after the merger, Bell created a spin-off company called Discovery Benefits, [12] which administers flexible benefits, COBRA and health savings accounts. [10] Bell also started HealthcareBank, one of the largest health care savings account banks and a client of Discovery Benefits. [10] In 2019, State Bankshares announced plans to sell Discovery Benefits for $425 million to Wex Inc., a South Portland, Maine-based payment processing and business solutions provider. In 2021, Bell and WEX agreed to WEX's acquisition of certain HSA assets of HealthcareBank. [13]
In 2011, the company acquired Minneapolis-based Bell Mortgage, expanding its reach into the Twin Cities and Phoenix, Ariz. [7] The company changed its name from State Bank & Trust to Bell State Bank & Trust in 2012 [14] and to Bell Bank in Aug., 2016. [8] In 2013, Bell acquired Minneapolis-based The Business Bank and its Prime Mortgage Division. [15] Bell Bank Mortgage expanded its offices into Wisconsin and New Mexico in 2018, [16] [17] Florida, Missouri and Tennessee in 2019, [18] [19] and Kansas in 2020. [20]
Bell launched an equipment finance division in Minneapolis in 2018, to serve the manufacturing, transportation, construction and agriculture industries. [21]
In 2019, Bell signed a purchase agreement to buy Warner and Company Insurance in Fargo, Schiller Insurance in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, and Thompson-Schaefer Insurance Agency in Grand Forks, North Dakota, and rebranded them as Bell Insurance. [22]
Bell opened its first full-service bank branch in Arizona—in the city of Chandler, Arizona—in 2019, [23] and its second in Phoenix – Biltmore in 2020. [24]
In 2020, Bell expanded into Forest Lake, Minn., [25] and Duluth, Minn., renovating and occupying the downtown Temple Opera Building. [26]
In 2021, Bell opened a branch in downtown Minneapolis' City Center [27] and announced its entrance into the Denver market. [28] Bell also purchased a 12-story building at 520 Main Ave. in downtown Fargo, which will reopen in 2024 after a full remodeling as Bell’s new headquarters. [29]
In 2022, Bell finalized its building lease for a new mortgage servicing center in Owensboro, Ky. [30] Bell also launched Bell Business Credit, a specialty lending team providing asset-based lending and factoring services for working capital intensive companies. [31]
In 2024, Bell opened Bell Tower, [32] its new, 190,000-square-foot corporate headquarters in downtown Fargo.
Bell has a 5-star rating from Bauer Financial, an independent bank research firm. Based on financial data from federal regulators, a 5-star rating, the highest rating the firm awards, means a bank is financially sound and is operating well above its capital requirements. [33]
The company plans to remain privately owned. [13]
Michael Solberg is Bell Bank's president, and the third CEO in the company's history. [7] He was named CEO in 2014, succeeding his father, Richard Solberg, who had been CEO since 1982. [7]
Michael Solberg was named chief operating officer in 2004 and president in 2009. [7] He started with the company in 1998 after graduating from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, and William Mitchell College of Law in Saint Paul, Minnesota. [34] He grew up in Finley, North Dakota, and Fargo. [34]
Richard Solberg is the board chairman and a company shareholder. [7] The bank is owned by about 70 shareholders, with a majority stake held by the families of Richard Solberg, Michael Solberg, Julie Snortland and Laura Snortland Fairfield. [35] Other major shareholders have included Thomas "Buck" Snortland [9] and his son, Thomas "Mickey" Snortland, both farmers from Sharon, North Dakota. [34]
Thomas "Mickey" Snortland, who was also a longtime director of the bank, died in 2013 of an apparent heart attack. [36]
Before working for what was then State Bank of Fargo, Richard Solberg was president of Citizens State Bank in Finley, where he grew up. He also graduated from Concordia College. [34] Under Richard Solberg's leadership, the bank grew from a single location with $28 million in assets to 20 branches in North Dakota and Minnesota with more than $3 billion in assets. [7] In 2022, Richard Solberg received the Legacy Leader Award from the Fargo Moorhead West Fargo Chamber of Commerce. [4]
NorthWestern Financial Review named Richard and Michael Solberg Bankers of the Year in 2012. [10]
Additional executive leadership includes: Patrick Chaffee, EVP/banking, wealth management & insurance, [37] Todd Lee, EVP/banking & commercial lending administration, [38] Laine Brantner, EVP/chief operating officer, Julie Peterson Klein, EVP/chief of staff and chief culture officer, [39] Tony Weick, EVP/Bell Bank Mortgage president, [40] Lynn Johnson, EVP/retail banking, [41] Jon Aarsvold, EVP/chief credit officer, [42] Jenny Senecal, EVP/deputy chief credit officer [43] Jena Cogswell, EVP/chief marketing officer, [44] Tim Gelinske, EVP/strategic initiatives and partnerships, [45] Blake Nelson, EVP/chief financial officer, [46] Gary Inman, EVP/information systems manager, and Jesse Schwab, EVP/chief risk officer. [47]
Several media outlets, including USA Today , People magazine and the BBC have written stories about Bell Bank's culture. [48] Bell's mission statement is Happy Employees! Happy Customers! [49] Michael Solberg says the bank's growth and profits are due to the way the company treats its employees. [50] In 2016, Bell announced it would make an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) part of employees' retirement benefits. [35] A portion of each employee's retirement funds will be invested in State Bankshares stock. [35]
Bell Bank has been recognized with multiple awards.
Fortune magazine named Bell to its list of 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2022, [51] and the Best Workplaces in Financial Services & Insurance in 2022, 2021, 2020 and 2019; Best Workplaces for Women in 2023, [52] 2022, 2021, 2020 and 2019; Best Workplaces for Millennials in 2023, [53] 2022, 2021, 2020 and 2019; and Best Workplaces for Parents in 2021 and 2020. [54]
Bell ranked 8th on People magazine's list of 100 Companies That Care, [55] 32nd in 2022 [56] and 87th in 2021. [57]
Forbes ranked Bell among the World's Best Banks and Best-in-State bank for North Dakota in 2023 [58] and 2020. [59] In 2019, Forbes ranked Bell among the World's Best Banks and second in U.S.-only banks. [60] In 2018, Forbes named Bell Best Bank in North Dakota and Minnesota. [61]
American Banker Magazine named Bell No. 3 on its Best Banks to Work For list in 2022 [62] and No. 1 in 2021. Bell also made the magazine’s list in 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013. [63]
Star Tribune Media Co. named Bell the No. 2 large workplace in 2023 [64] and 2022 [65] and No. 2 large workplace and top banking workplace in Minnesota in 2021 [66] and has included Bell on the StarTribune's Top Workplaces list every year since 2011. [67] In 2016, the media company also recognized Bell with an ethics award. [68]
Part of Bell Bank's culture is its Pay It Forward program, which Michael Solberg started in 2007. [69] The program gives full-time employees $1,000 and part-time employees $500 each year to give to people and organizations in need. Bell has given more than $25 million in employee-driven charitable giving since launching. [70]
In 2022, Bell launched a “Big Blue Bus” that will bring banking, mortgage and financial planning resources into neighborhoods throughout the company’s geographic area. [37] Bell also co-hosted a “shark tank” style accelerator called Get Down to Business with The Get Down Coffee Co. and Neighborhood Development Center at the 3M Open, where they gave away $100,000 to three diverse entrepreneurs to grow their businesses. The grants were funded by Bell Bank and 3M Open Fund and facilitated by Neighborhood Development Center. [71]
Bell has formed partnerships with athletes and other celebrities with North Dakota and Minnesota ties. Some of them work with Bell on charitable causes. [72] They include: