11 Hoosier Banker May 2015 Continued on page 12. “I remained with the bank for about five years, then spent five years with Farm Credit Services in Bluffton. Finally, I came here to Farmers State Bank in December 2006. For all intents and purposes, I began in January 2007, with help from a very supportive board of directors. “My entry into banking may not have been planned, but I soon found that I liked dealing with people and helping them with their financial decision-making. There is an intimate nature to the financial relationship bankers have with customers, and it’s very fulfilling. When a customer wants my counsel, nothing makes me happier.” How has your agricultural banking background influenced you? “Ag banking taught me the financial value of a balance sheet. Nothing takes the place of a strong balance sheet for an ag customer, and that translates well to banking. “A good, strong bank can have tough earnings years, but it will still survive based on the strength of its balance sheet. A bank that doesn’t have adequate capital and is not profitable will not last long in hard times. So the more capital you have, the more resilient you can be when times are tough. “Farmers, too, are balance-sheet strong, which they need to be in order to accommodate long economic cycles. Most businesses have an economic cycle of a month. A shoe store, for example, will buy shoes, sell shoes, and measure profits every month. Most businesses, including banks, are the same. How did this month measure up, compared to last month? “But with farmers, especially grain farmers, it’s annual. The cycle of planting, harvesting and selling takes a year. So while most companies can withstand a bad month by making adjustments, they would struggle with a bad year. A farmer might have a bad year, and will need to make adjustments, but also relies on a strong balance sheet to survive. “I was raised in the Rushville area, a farm community. My father was a district sales manager with MoorMan’s Feed Company, where he worked for 40 years.” Why do you devote time to serving on the IBA board of directors? “Other than a few large banks in Indiana, most of the headquartered banks are small and need the functional areas of support the IBA has to offer. Education/training, compliance, are just a few of the areas of the Association we use. Also the networking opportunities, not only for me, but for our other executives, are developed and flourish within the IBA. “While banks of our size, especially, need the Association, I’m glad to see that the large banks in Indiana are returning to membership. Most of them have their own training departments, and their own compliance department and other functionality, but I believe they are coming back to the IBA because of its successful lobbying. “I previously served on the IBA board about 15 years ago, shortly after the merger with the Indiana League of Savings Institutions. The difference that I see in the IBA now is that the IBA is everything that it used to be, but with a much more powerful lobbying presence. “Under the leadership of Joe DeHaven as CEO and Amber Van Til as head of government relations, IBA has become very successful in representing banking in the political arena. I credit that as the reason some of the larger banks are coming back; IBA speaks for the full banking industry. “Personally, I’m not that political, but I understand the importance of advocacy. Last year I went on the Annual IBA Washington Trip, and it was enlightening. I’ll probably go again this year.” Please describe family life, both past and present. “My wife Julie and I have four children and 10 grandchildren, ranging in age from 1 to 21. We enjoy the relationships we have with them and see most of them at least monthly. “My wife is now retired from a teaching career, and we are enjoying Frequent communications keep Greg Maxwell in touch with his “great team of executives.” Shown are (left to right): Jim McFadden, chief financial officer; Mike Shade, information security officer and IT head of operations; Rebecca Woodward, branch administrator and market manager, east center branch, Warsaw; Lindy Breeden, chief credit officer and Mentone location market manager; Mike Walters, ag banker and sales manager; Greg Maxwell. Kristi Manwaring, assistant vice president and market manager, chats with Greg Maxwell.
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