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Wisconsin Community Banker
September/October 2014
CHANGING SCENE
Bank Picks Up Chase
Health Savings Accounts
SHEBOYGAN—JPMorgan Chase
Bank is getting out of the health sav-
ings account business and the big
bank’s loss is a Wisconsin community
bank’s gain.
HSA Bank of Sheboygan will
acquire 700,000 accounts worth $1.3
billion in deposits and $175 million in
investments from the New York behe-
moth pending regulatory approval.
HSA Bank is a subsidiary of Webster
Financial Corp., the parent company
of Webster Bank N.A.
With assets of nearly $2.4 billion
and 1.4 million accounts, HSA is one
of the most experienced health savings
account administrators in the country.
It was originally founded as the State
Bank of Howards Grove and changed
its name to HSA Bank with a focus on
health savings accounts in 2004.
Bank to Support New Life
for Old Mall
IXONIA—With the fate of Milwau-
kee’s Grand Avenue Mall in flux as it
goes on the auction block again, many
proposals have been put forth as to
what to do with downtown Milwau-
kee’s white elephant.
One of the plans is for local owner-
ship and redevelopment that could
include a group of Wisconsin’s col-
leges. Ixonia Bank is one of the banks
that has stepped forward to help
finance efforts by WAM DC LLC, Mil-
waukee’s economic development orga-
nization, to purchase the property.
The mall is currently owned by
Bank of America commercial mort-
gage trust, which got it back when a
previous owner went into foreclosure.
Bank Partners on
Crowdfunding Effort
MONONA—Monona State Bank has
agreed to work with MobCraft Beer to
handle money the company is raising
under the new Wisconsin law that lets
private companies sell stock over the
Internet to people of moderate means.
The new law permits businesses to sell
up to $1 million in stock to state resi-
dents, with non-accredited investors
putting in up to $10,000 each. Firms
can raise up to $2 million if they make
a financial audit available. While the
money is being raised it must be held
in escrow by a state-chartered finan-
cial institution.
Ridgestone Bank Ranked
in Top 10
BROOKFIELD—Ridgestone Bank
was ranked the 7th best-run commu-
nity bank in the country in terms of
return on average assets (ROAA) and
efficiency ratio, according to an analy-
sis by Sageworks, a Raleigh, North
Carolina-based financial information
company.
The analysis included data from
4,566 community banks with assets
from $100 million to $10 billion as
of June 30, 2014. Ridgestone Bank’s
ROAA is 3.4 percent, with a 46 per-
cent efficiency ratio.
“The hard work of our team and
our unique business model are the
major factors leading to these out-
standing results,” said Bruce Lammers,
president of Ridgestone Bank. “As a
leading lender to small business we
are proud of our contribution to our
customers and communities we serve.”
Ridgestone Bank is a privately-held
bank with locations in Brookfield and
Schaumburg, Ill., as well as lending
teams in Indianapolis, Green Bay,
Wausau, and Los Angeles. A top 10
SBA lender, Ridgestone is the num-
ber one SBA lender in its asset size in
Wisconsin.
Lending up at State-
chartered Banks
MADISON—Total lending grew by
5.1 percent and net income remained
steady at Wisconsin’s state-chartered
banks in the six months ending June
30, compared to the same period a
year earlier, according to data released
by the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corp.
Compared to the first six months of
2013, Wisconsin’s 192 state-chartered
banks:
Grew lending to $31.5 billion, up
from $30.0 billion.
Realized net income of $230.8 mil-
lion, virtually unchanged from 2013.
Improved their past due loan ratio
to 2.19 percent, down from 2.83
percent.
Increased their capital ratio from
11.51 percent to 11.71 percent—
the highest since before the Great
Recession.
“The increase in lending for Wis-
consin banks parallels what is occur-
ring nationwide,” said Peter Bildsten,
secretary of the Department of Finan-
cial Institutions. “As the quality of loan
portfolios continues to improve, it’s no
surprise that Wisconsin banks have
been able to grow lending.”
Mike Mach, Administrator of
DFI’s Division of Banking, noted that
capital levels are as high as they have
been in years. “On average, Wisconsin
banks’ capital levels are outperform-
ing institutions nationally,” Mach said.
“In addition, return on assets (ROA)
remains solid at 1.00 percent.”
According to the FDIC Quarterly
Banking Profile, Wisconsin now has
255 financial institutions overall,
down from 261 last year. Total assets
were $101 billion, up from $97.3 mil-
lion in the second quarter of 2013.
Total deposits were $78.6 million, up
from $77.5 million a year ago.
