Written by Bill Coffee, CEO

When I started writing this blog a few weeks ago, we hadn’t heard much about COVID-19. Today, we shelter in place! Together, we will get through this health crisis and emerge with a renewed commitment to each other, our communities and our state. That’s why I believe it’s important we continue to celebrate achievements in our businesses, our local community organizations and neighborhoods.

I am so proud of our employees and their ongoing commitment to our customers and our company. In this edition of Coffee Talk, I look back at 2019, our continued growth and the many enhancements our team implemented to provide you with the best in banking services.

Convenient Banking

2019 was a year of growth and innovation for Stockman as we focused our efforts on building a better banking experience for our customers. After months of planning, we introduced a new online and mobile banking service last year that allows you to conveniently and easily manage your money all in one place.

Enhancing our technology services is part of our overall goal to give you the freedom to bank whenever and wherever it’s convenient. This option has become even more important as we work from home, attend school from home, and practice physical distancing to stop COVID-19. We continue to serve our customers through our drive-ups and by appointment because we believe that technology should enhance customer service, not replace it.

That is why we offer:

• Banking online from home, work or out in the country from your laptop or tablet.
• Banking from your mobile phone.

Our commitment to technology, convenience and state-of-the-art services is ongoing and new programs are currently under development.

 Growth and Community Commitment

We continued to grow in 2019, opening our third branch in Missoula and welcoming more customers to the Stockman family. We remain the largest, family-owned, privately-held community bank, and the 4^th largest bank in Montana.

Our commitment to our communities continues to be strong. We donated more than $1.3 million and several thousand volunteer hours in 2019, helping to make our Montana communities better places to live and work. At Stockman, it is truly neighbors serving neighbors.

Local Leadership Matters

Our success over the past year is due to the dedication and hard work of our almost 800 executives, managers and employees who live and work in the communities they serve. Why is local leadership and service important? We believe it’s an integral part of being a community bank. Understanding and commitment is not learned in a book or briefly acquired by “transferring in.”

It’s different at Stockman. All of our executive leaders and board directors live and work in Montana. In fact, most were born and grew up here. They understand what it means to be a Montanan and the unique needs of our customers and communities. This extends to our bank management around the state who are active in our communities, responsive, and easy to reach. Most importantly, decisions are made locally. Our customers don’t have to wait for someone in another state to make a loan decision!

We Are Here For You

These are not just words to us. We live these ideals every day, providing the highest level of local service to you, our customer. We are all living through this changing time that only a few weeks ago didn’t seem possible. Know that we will continue to work with you personally and with your business. The cliché you often hear, “Your bank is your partner” is sincerely how we operate through good times and bad. We have weathered many storms in our 65+ years of operation. We will weather the Covid-19 pandemic as well.

If you are financially impacted and need our support, call your local Stockman Bank to make an appointment or you can contact our Customer Service.

Stay home. Stay safe. Take care of yourselves and your loved ones.

- Bill