Curt Hecker, CEO
Dear Friends,
A bank’s first responsibility is to keep its depositors’ money safe. Since our founding in 1981, that has, and will continue to be Intermountain Community Bancorp’s and Panhandle State Bank’s top priority.
Secondary responsibilities are to make a profit, to benefit shareholders, provide more services to its communities and develop a platform for future growth. When the order of the primary responsibility and these secondary responsibilities are confused, banks can get into trouble.
We’re hearing a lot of news about failures in the banking system, mostly as a result of the mortgage-lending crisis. A small percentage of financial institutions saw an opportunity to make quick profits on mortgage loans that offered high fees and interest rates but also required minimal income and asset documentation. High profile news reports feature the recent problems of IndyMac, an institution that specialized in this type of high-profit, high-risk loan.
All this media attention also points out that our banking system does work. Federally insured deposits are protected within certain limits, even in the midst of a bank failure. And, as Diane Casey-Landry, CEO of the American Bankers Association points out, having a safe and sound banking system to rely on shows the importance of the role banks play in our local communities and in our nation's economy. They are the source of stability and of growth. That is true regardless of their asset size, their charter or their business plan. And the vast majority of banks today hold more capital than the law requires.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has ranked Panhandle State Bank as “Well Capitalized”. Our capital level and reserves exceed those of many of our banking peers. We maintain a high level of excess liquidity to meet any potential immediate demand.
Deposits at our banks are fully insured by the FDIC. Although there are FDIC-imposed caps on the amounts that can be insured -- up to $100,000 per person and up to $250,000 on IRA accounts—our expert staff can help customers structure their accounts to dramatically expand that coverage. More information is available at any of our branches and on our website, www.intermountainbank.com.
Most importantly, our bank’s philosophy has always been to do business in a very personal way. We know our customers and we keep our loan portfolio invested in our own communities. We stand ready to help our customers with banking channels and products. Through a thoughtful, respectful process we are able to minimize our real risk of making bad loans while acting as good stewards for our depositors.
Panhandle State Bank, and its family of banks including Intermountain Community Bank and Magic Valley Bank, is well positioned with seasoned management, caring staff and a strong financial position to work through the current challenging economy. We look forward to helping each of our customers move through this downswing, safe and strong.