Independent Banker - August 2018 - 96

CONNECTIONS
diversify their revenue streams, Ogaard
says. Along with helping a tribe assess
if a project makes economic sense and
is sustainable, Native American Bank
will serve as a sounding board for tribes
that want to explore the option of engaging
in a business far away from the
reservation. " We see that now with
more frequency, " he says.
" We're working with tribes in conjunction
with consortiums that are
looking at energy-either solar or
wind-and how does that come to fruition, "
Ogaard says. " We're looking at
doing some of the infrastructure costs
with that. And those tribes that are
coming together will share in the revenue
sources from that. It's a different
context for our type of banking. "
What matters most is that tribes invest
in businesses that can make money.
" At the end of the day, what they
want is to bring the revenue back to
the tribe to help support the programs
they have for tribal members, " says
Ogaard. " That's any number of things,
From left: Former Native American Bank sales and marketing director Mika Leonard; Holly
Kinney, executive director of Tesoro Cultural Center; and Thomas Ogaard, president and CEO of
Native American Bank, at Tesoro Cultural Center.
from health and wellness to education
and all sorts of other things. "
Creating partnerships
Housing is another key area of activity
for Native American Bank. On rural
reservations, there's a big need for
housing. You might find several families
Teaching financial literacy
Denver-based Native American
Bank has a Browning, Mont., retail
branch and a Box Elder, Mont.,
loan production office. The bank
recently purchased another
Denver building for its future
headquarters and an additional
branch location.
In 2017, Native American Bank
partnered with EverFi to provide
online financial literacy education
to its customers across the U.S.
People can go on the bank's
website to view three- to sevenminute
tutorials on everything
from opening a checking account
to getting a car loan.
" Many tribal communities are
cash-based societies, " says Native
American Bank president and
CEO Thomas Ogaard. " We see it
from our location in Browning. "
He's talking about individuals
who visit the bank every two
weeks to cash their entire
paycheck-and then keep their
cash in their pocket.
" That's how they pay their bills, "
he says. " We have the website,
we have online banking, we have
a mobile app on your phone.
" There's a need to help tribal
members and tribal communities
understand how to use current
technology and trust in it, and
that takes time. "
living in one 1,200-square-foot house.
Native American Bank participates
in Tribal Housing Authority (THA)
financing and has made more than
$20 million worth of HUD Title VI
loans, helping make homeownership
a reality for individuals with low to
moderate incomes.
These projects may also involve educating
a local bank. For example, the
Oglala Sioux Lakota Housing project
in South Dakota included a $6 million
HUD Title VI loan to build 45 moderate-income
units, each with a two-acre
lot. " We partner with [our customers']
banks in getting deals done, " Ogaard
says. He expects these housing projects
will increase, as will partnerships
with other banks on projects in the
$10 million to $20 million range.
" Native American Bank is really a
partnership and relationship-building
bank, not only with tribes and tribal entities
and tribal individuals throughout
Indian country, but with other financial
institutions as well, " Ogaard says. " It
just helps us to leverage our ability to
lend. Rather than do a few projects of a
particular size, we can do a number of
projects and then spread the wealth. "
Jolene Johnson is a writer in Minnesota.
96 Q ICBA Independent Banker Q August 2018

Independent Banker - August 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Independent Banker - August 2018