by John Dowd
On Friday, July 19th, Rocky Mountain Bank (RMB) in the center of downtown Stevensville closed at noon for the last time before a weekend makeover. On Monday morning, when the bank opened back up, many may have noticed that it changed to First Security Bank.
Over the weekend, First Security Bank in Stevensville underwent some big changes, closing down from their old location and moving into the RMB building. They are a division of Glacier Bank Corporation, which purchased six of the nine RMB locations, including Stevensville, two in Billings, Bozeman, Plentywood, and Whitehall.
Glacier Bank Corporation has 17 bank divisions in eight states, all in the west, while RMB was a division of Heartland Financial. After the purchase, several divisions of Glacier Bank Corporation are moving into the old RMB locations. The Stevensville RMB location will be the only one taken over by a First Security Bank division.
According to Chad Baker, the First Security Bank regional market president overseeing Ravalli County, the transition was pretty seamless. According to them, Glacier Bank Corporation has a crack team that handles a lot of these transitions, and they do so very well. When the building reopened on Monday morning, there was even signage, and a happy accident where Google Maps shows First Security Bank located at its new location. According to Baker, this was the case long before the purchase even took place.
Baker said the change was a relatively easy process, as both RMB and First Security have similar footprints.
“We felt like it would be a good fit,” said Baker.
However, he also believes the customers of the former RMB, which will be taken on by First Security, may appreciate the change. He said this because First Security has a more locally operated business model. Baker believes this leads to more localized decision making and a great set of products and services they are proud of. According to him, this gives First Security a real “community bank feel.” He added, “I love the community bank model.”
They are excited to provide these services to the transferring RMB customers, and he believes they should expect nothing less than superb customer service.
“They are going to experience great customer service and I think they are just going to find it very welcoming,” said Baker.
Baker said that a community bank is really essential in places like Montana. He believes being less centralized allows banks to be more involved in the community and to address specifically local needs and tailored services. It also gives them the opportunity to spend more time with their customers. As for the new customers, Baker said they are excited to “welcome them to the First Security Bank family.”
Most of the original RMB employees are also staying on during the transfer, and will become First Security Bank employees. The larger 6,000 square foot space at RMB will help house the increase in employee numbers, as First Security doubled their number from five to 10 with the new RMB employees. According to April Roush, Stevensville First Security Bank branch manager and consumer lender, “We had outgrown our old space rather quickly.”
According to Baker, the move to the new space is “going to enhance our ability to house more employees,” and Baker also hopes it will only increase customer service. He added that many of the employees are excited for the change.
“In some ways, it is going to be like the first day for RMB employees,” said Baker, “but training has gone well and they aren’t coming in cold.”
The RMB employees will need to learn the way First Security Bank does things, but they all have banking experience to pull from, and Baker believes there should be little challenge in the changeover.
“I think it’s going to be really nice bringing on the Rocky crew,” said Roush.
The process has taken a lot of work at all levels, added Baker. He is proud of the work everyone has done and is excited to see what the future holds for First Security Bank in Stevensville. He said First Security and RMB each sent out notices that the changeover was happening, expecting that the community may have some questions.
First Security Bank will now be located at 220 Main Street, Stevensville. For parties and customers interested in getting more information about the changeover and what to expect over the coming weeks, Baker suggested they call the Stevensville branch of First Security Bank at (406) 728-3115 or to go to the First Security Bank website, www.fsbmsla.com.