Bell Bank was founded as State Bank of Fargo in 1966[7] as a single location in the Northport Shopping Center in Fargo.[8] Thomas "Buck" Snortland was one of the company's founders.[9]
In 2003, the bank bought Northern Capital Trust, a trust company and flex spending adjudication business.[10] Richard Solberg, who was then the bank's president and CEO, had served on the board of directors for Northern Capital Trust since the company was established—16 years before the merger.[11]
Not long after the merger, Bell created a spin-off company called Discovery Benefits, which administers flexible benefits, COBRA and health savings accounts.[12] Bell also started HealthcareBank, one of the largest health care savings account banks and a client of Discovery Benefits.[13] In 2019, State Bankshares announced plans to sell Discovery Benefits for $425 million to Wex Inc., a South Portland, Maine-based payment processing and business solutions provider. In 2021, Bell and WEX agreed to WEX's acquisition of certain HSA assets of HealthcareBank.[14]
In 2011, the company acquired Minneapolis-based Bell Mortgage, expanding its reach into the Twin Cities and Phoenix, Ariz.[15] The company changed its name from State Bank & Trust to Bell State Bank & Trust in 2012[16] and to Bell Bank in Aug., 2016.[17] In 2013, Bell acquired Minneapolis-based The Business Bank and its Prime Mortgage Division.[18] Bell Bank Mortgage expanded its offices into Wisconsin and New Mexico in 2018,[19][20] Florida, Missouri and Tennessee in 2019,[21][22] and Kansas in 2020.[23]
Bell launched an equipment finance division in Minneapolis in 2018, to serve the manufacturing, transportation, construction and agriculture industries.[24]
In 2019, Bell signed a purchase agreement to buy Warner and Company Insurance in Fargo, Schiller Insurance in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, and Thompson-Schaefer Insurance Agency in Grand Forks, North Dakota, and rebranded them as Bell Insurance.[25]
Bell Bank opened its Chandler, Ariz., branch in January, 2019.
Bell opened its first full-service bank branch in Arizona—in the city of Chandler, Arizona—in 2019,[26] and its second in Phoenix – Biltmore in 2020.[27]
In 2020, Bell expanded into Forest Lake, Minn.,[28] and Duluth, Minn., renovating and occupying the downtown Temple Opera Building.[29]
In 2021, Bell opened a branch in downtown Minneapolis' City Center[30] and announced its entrance into the Denver market.[31] Bell also purchased a 12-story building at 520 Main Ave. in downtown Fargo, which will reopen in 2024 after a full remodeling as Bell’s new headquarters.[32]
In 2022, Bell finalized its building lease for a new mortgage servicing center in Owensboro, Ky.[33] Bell also launched Bell Business Credit, a specialty lending team providing asset-based lending and factoring services for working capital intensive companies.[34]
In 2024, Bell opened Bell Tower[35], its new, 190,000-square-foot corporate headquarters in downtown Fargo.
Bell has a 5-star rating from Bauer Financial, an independent bank research firm. Based on financial data from federal regulators, a 5-star rating, the highest rating the firm awards, means a bank is financially sound and is operating well above its capital requirements.[36]
Bell Bank President and CEO Michael Solberg speaks to employees.
Michael Solberg is Bell Bank's president, and the third CEO in the company's history.[38] He was named CEO in 2014, succeeding his father, Richard Solberg, who had been CEO since 1982.[39]
Richard Solberg is the boardchairman and a company shareholder.[43] The bank is owned by about 70 shareholders, with a majority stake held by the families of Richard Solberg, Michael Solberg, Julie Snortland and Laura Snortland Fairfield.[44] Other major shareholders have included Thomas "Buck" Snortland[45] and his son, Thomas "Mickey" Snortland, both farmers from Sharon, North Dakota.[46]
Thomas "Mickey" Snortland, who was also a longtime director of the bank, died in 2013 of an apparent heart attack.[47]
Before working for what was then State Bank of Fargo, Richard Solberg was president of Citizens State Bank in Finley, where he grew up. He also graduated from Concordia College.[48] Under Richard Solberg's leadership, the bank grew from a single location with $28 million in assets to 20 branches in North Dakota and Minnesota with more than $3 billion in assets.[49] In 2022, Richard Solberg received the Legacy Leader Award from the Fargo Moorhead West Fargo Chamber of Commerce [50]
NorthWestern Financial Review named Richard and Michael Solberg Bankers of the Year in 2012.[51]
Additional executive leadership includes: Patrick Chaffee, EVP/banking, wealth management & insurance,[52] Todd Lee, EVP/banking & commercial lending administration,[53] Laine Brantner, EVP/chief operating officer, Julie Peterson Klein, EVP/chief of staff and chief culture officer,[54] Tony Weick, EVP/Bell Bank Mortgage president,[55] Lynn Johnson, EVP/retail banking,[56] Jon Aarsvold, EVP/chief credit officer, [57] Jenny Senecal, EVP/deputy chief credit officer[58] Jena Cogswell, EVP/chief marketing officer,[59] Tim Gelinske, EVP/strategic initiatives and partnerships,[60] Blake Nelson, EVP/chief financial officer,[61] Gary Inman, EVP/information systems manager, and Jesse Schwab, EVP/chief risk officer.[62]
Company Culture
Several media outlets, including USA Today, People magazine and the BBC have written stories about Bell Bank's culture.[63] Bell's mission statement is Happy Employees! Happy Customers![64] Michael Solberg says the bank's growth and profits are due to the way the company treats its employees.[65] In 2016, Bell announced it would make an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) part of employees' retirement benefits.[66] A portion of each employee's retirement funds will be invested in State Bankshares stock.[67]
Awards Received by Bell Bank
Bell Bank has been recognized with multiple awards.
Fortune magazine named Bell to its list of 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2022,[68] and the Best Workplaces in Financial Services & Insurance in 2022, 2021, 2020 and 2019; Best Workplaces for Women in 2023,[69] 2022, 2021, 2020 and 2019; Best Workplaces for Millennials in 2023,[70] 2022, 2021, 2020 and 2019; and Best Workplaces for Parents in 2021 and 2020.[71]
Bell ranked 8th on People magazine's list of 100 Companies That Care,[72] 32nd in 2022[73] and 87th in 2021.[74]
Forbes ranked Bell among the World's Best Banks and Best-in-State bank for North Dakota in 2023[75] and 2020.[76] In 2019, Forbes ranked Bell among the World's Best Banks and second in U.S.-only banks.[77] In 2018, Forbes named Bell Best Bank in North Dakota and Minnesota.[78]
American Banker Magazine named Bell No. 3 on its Best Banks to Work For list in 2022[79] and No. 1 in 2021. Bell also made the magazine’s list in 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013.[80]
Star Tribune Media Co. named Bell the No. 2 large workplace in 2023[81] and 2022
[82] and No. 2 large workplace and top banking workplace in Minnesota in 2021[83] and has included Bell on the StarTribune's Top Workplaces list every year since 2011.[84] In 2016, the media company also recognized Bell with an ethics award.[85]
Pay It Forward Program
Part of Bell Bank's culture is its Pay It Forward program, which Michael Solberg started in 2007.[86] The program gives full-time employees $1,000 and part-time employees $500 each year to give to people and organizations in need. Bell has given more than $25 million in employee-driven charitable giving since launching.[87]
Community Outreach
In 2022, Bell launched a “Big Blue Bus” that will bring banking, mortgage and financial planning resources into neighborhoods throughout the company’s geographic area.[88] Bell also co-hosted a “shark tank” style accelerator called Get Down to Business with The Get Down Coffee Co. and Neighborhood Development Center at the 3M Open, where they gave away $100,000 to three diverse entrepreneurs to grow their businesses. The grants were funded by Bell Bank and 3M Open Fund and facilitated by Neighborhood Development Center.[89]
Sponsorships and Endorsements
Bell has formed partnerships with athletes and other celebrities with North Dakota and Minnesota ties. Some of them work with Bell on charitable causes.[90]
They include:
