First Bank Kansas leadership prides its staff in community service and involvement.

Yet when Curt Glaser learned in 2021 that not only was it was the top-scoring community bank in Kansas, but the top-scoring community bank in America by Forbes, he was shocked.

“It was a complete surprise,” said Glaser, who is the Chief Lending Officer at the Ellsworth branch office. “We did not enter a contest. We didn’t know it was going on.”

Angie Eilrich is the executive vice president and chief operations officer at the bank’s home office in Salina.

“Forbes is known for their awards, their rankings,” she said. “It’s not something that you’re aware of in advance. They initiate a survey throughout the country for whatever category they are doing the survey on.”

First Bank Kansas was not notified by Forbes of the accomplishment.

“We, like many companies, have alerts set up so if our name hits the media, we’re alerted,” Eilrich said. “Forbes announced their results and we found out we were the top-ranking bank in Kansas. We also were the overall top scoring bank in America.”

Once the shock wore off — and the legitimacy of the award was established — the significance sunk in.

“We were very, very honored,” Eilrich said.

According to the Forbes.com article from 2021, 25,000 people across the country were surveyed for the company’s fourth annual ranking of Best-In-State Banks and Credit Unions.

Less than three percent of the more than 10,000 community banks made Forbes’ list.

Out of a possible 100 points, First Bank Kansas scored 94.13.

“I think part of it may be that our customers love us,” Glaser said. “Basically, the customers have to be engaged enough to take the time to take a survey.”

Each survey contained 20 questions about trust, terms and conditions, branch services, digital services and financial advice.

“Some banks ranked high in one or two,” Glaser said. “We consistently ranked high in all of them, which is what I think propelled us to the top.”

The award was in the community bank category, Eilrich said. National banks such as Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Chase were excluded.

“The community banks are vital to the lifeblood of rural Kansas,” Glaser said. “To me, we play a vital role in rural Kansas staying relevant.”

First Bank Kansas has eight offices in six different communities: Ellsworth, Abilene, Lindsborg, McPherson, Hutchinson and Salina.

Glaser said the bank’s focus on customers is one of its greatest strengths.

“We really strive with our customers to have an exceptional experience,” he said. “With a lot of our products, we try to look at it from the customer side of things. We can make things simpler for back-end operations, but it’s not always simplest for the customers.”

Glaser credits a forward-thinking attitude with technology as a strength.

“We were one of the first ones to offer mobile banking in Ellsworth,” he said. “In the community bank world, especially in the smaller markets, we’ve been on the forefront of a lot of those products.”

While internet services and mobile banking appeal to a portion of the population, he said maintaining the basics helps the bank serve a broad range of customers.

“Our bank is in smaller markets, older communities,” Glaser said. “We have some who don’t use Internet banking, but we have others who do. We still have some customers who have moved to Florida but still bank with us. They can use the mobile apps and Internet banking. To some degree, technology helps, but we’re not so big that we can’t give the personalized touch.”

Online banking is convenient to some, but the bank still maintains local customer service.

“When people have a problem, they want to talk to a real person, someone they know,” Glaser said. “The person in Florida can call us and know us by name because they grew up here.”

The bank maintains a call center in Salina, but each branch has a direct number so customers can still connect with their local branch.

“There is still a segment (of the population) who wants the personal touch,” Glaser said. “They write checks, they come in to make their deposits.”

The personal nature of small-town life is part of the equation.

“I have made numerous loans in the grocery store,” Glaser said. “I have people say, ‘I meant to call you. I am going this weekend and am going to buy a car.’

“A lot of times I say, ‘Write the check and come see us on Monday.’ You know your customers well. I know when they get paid, where they work. It’s the advantages of small town. I know who is on overdraft list and who is not.”

Achieving the recognition from Forbes is an honor for the bank.

“Obviously, what it means is that once you’ve received a recognition like this, there’s a lot of pride in wanting to maintain that level of service and professionalism and product that brought you to that,” Eilrich said. “You might not get that recognition itself in the future, but you want to always be at that level with the customers that believe in you. You don’t want to let them down.”

She credits the long tenure of many employees as an essential part of the equation.

“It really is about the relationships,” Eilrich said. “I think that First Bank Kansas works very hard to develop and build relationships and to be very involved in the communities we are in.

“We also have amazing employees, some with very long tenure. We have amazing people that work for us. We have some of the greatest customers.”

“The community banks are vital to the lifeblood of rural Kansas. To me, we play a vital role in rural Kansas staying relevant.” Curt Glaser Chief lending officer, First Bank Kansas in Ellsworth