Minnesota bank is on the move with new suburban locale

Northwestern Financial Review, Aug 1, 2001 by Crews, Jennifer Goepfert

[chronicle]

Citizens Independent Bank, St. Louis Park, Minn., opened its fifth full-service location in July in Plymouth, Minn. The 5,000-square-foot office is the anchor tenant in the new Plymouth City Center, a newly-built professional building co-owned by Brad Bakken, president and CEO of Citizens Independent. The move to Plymouth positions the bank in the midst of a booming western suburb with a large growth potential.

Citizens, which was chartered in 1949, just celebrated its 50th anniversary. When it initially opened, the bank featured one of the first suburban drivethroughs. Citizens opened a second location in St. Louis Park in 1980 and acquired a third location, the former Guarantee Bank in Robbinsdale, Minn., in 1982. Last year, the $195 million bank opened a fourth location in Hopkins, Minn. The move to Plymouth was the next logical step for the growing bank.

"We are already in some of the firstring suburbs," said Brad Bakken. "A lot of our business customers have moved out into the Plymouth area with their growth and a lot of people have moved their residences out there too. Plymouth fits in nice with us since we have a lot of business ties out there already-it really gives us a leg up on starting out there."

Citizens entered a competitive market in Plymouth, a community that is already being served by several of the larger financial institutions and community banks, including Wells Fargo, US Bank, Marquette and Associated Bank. Bakken pointed out, however, that Citizens is a middle-market bank, a niche that is fairly open in the community at the moment. The bank's initial plan is to target the medium-sized growing businesses and focus on profitability.

"Right now we are focused on asset growth," said Bakken. "We want to get some borrowing and some commercial customers in here. I think that is what the real strategy is. Along with that will come the individual customers who will grow the deposit base. Plymouth is a growing and somewhat offluent area, so if we market it right the deposits will come."

Marketing plans include a grand opening certificate of deposit special, a mass mailing, local newspaper spots and involvement in community organizations.

"Of course we are going after a lot of the customers that other community banks are," he admitted, "but what we are looking for is the relationshipmaintaining and building business through our service and relationships. That seems to be a big buzz word in the industry today-`service.' Banks are either discovering service or going back to it. But that is what we have been doing for 51 years. It is a niche."

The bank has also seen growth in the technology arena recently with the introduction of a fully transactional Web site, which Bakken equates with opening up another branch. He also stated that Citizens is eyeing further expansion into the western suburbs.

The immediate future of Citizens Independent calls for a relocation of the office Bakken refers to as Citizen's "world headquarters" in St. Louis Park, as the existing building is being bought by a neighboring medical center for expansion. Bakken is looking into a redevelopment project in St. Louis Park for a possible relocation.

"It will be a good time, a new beginning for us here," Bakken smiled. "We were sedentary for so long and now we are making new changes. This is energizing the entire staff. And it is creating new opportunities for staff members. You must either stand still, go back or go forward. For us, it is time to see growth."

By Jennifer Goepfert Crews