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March 10, 2025
NORTHEAST WISCONSIN – Manitowoc-headquartered Bank First was recently named one of America’s Best Banks for 2025 by Forbes, an honor that takes into account the bank’s financial strength, strategic growth and steadfast commitment to its customers, employees and stakeholders.
Though a Forbes recognition is significant, Mike Molepske – chief executive officer and chairman of the board for Bank First – said for the 131-year-old bank, it’s business as usual.
“The financial aspect is the outcome of everything else we’re doing,” he said. “Our whole model revolves around customer relationships. We bank with people we trust. We have a high standard, but once you’re in, we spoil you. You do that, and the results take care of themselves.”
Community focused
Bank First seeks to be the primary bank of all its customers, which Molepske said boils down to customers having a checking account and then offering special pricing on loans.
“We try to build a holistic approach to banking, which we do by adding one relationship at a time,” he said.
It’s an internal job, which Molepske said Bank First takes seriously in how it hires and trains its employees.
He said that begins with hiring entrepreneurial team members who take ownership and are willing to address issues in uncomfortable situations to take care of the customer.
Molepske said he and other senior leaders meet with new employees every quarter to discuss Bank First’s brand promise, culture, development plans/career paths and the importance of being engaged, communicating and asking questions.
“It’s about supporting our employees because we want them to deliver our guest experience and need to make sure they have the resources to do so,” he said.
Molepske said that extends to the bank’s 357 employees’ passions in the community, whether that’s supporting Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Alzheimer’s Association or the homeless shelter. Bank First not only supports employees with eight hours of paid volunteer time, he said, but also through sponsorships and donations.
In 2024, Molepske said Bank First contributed more than $792,000 to 586 local events and nonprofit organizations, and its employees donated more than 7,200 hours of volunteering to their local communities as well – building meaningful relationships with local families in the process.
“Those are the organizations we support – the ones our employees are involved in,” he said. “We believe these relationships strengthen us and the communities we serve.”
Branding starts on the inside
Inside Bank First’s 26 (almost 27 – with construction currently taking place on a Sturgeon Bay location) locations, Molepske said visitors will find light, bright environments featuring a lot of natural light and natural materials.
Second to its people, Molepske said bank facilities are the next biggest investment in Bank First’s brand – all of which he said aim to create a warm and inviting environment for customers.
One look around any location, he said, reveals artwork by local artists, and an intentional effort for each bank location to secure a variety of services – be it lawn care, landscaping or cleaning services – from its clientele.
“We are intentional about not just solving for today but building a portfolio product that’s designed to work for decades,” he said.
Molepske said he actually loves it when a customer comes in with a problem because of the opportunity that presents.
“How we solve the problem is more important than the problem itself,” he said. “If we solve it, and solve it to their liking, we now have a stronger relationship than we had before the problem. Plus, we are going to learn something in the process and incorporate that into our processes and procedures, if needed.”
Molepske said the mindset at Bank First is different and “new employees often find it interesting.”
“We seek people who care, navigate and are responsive,” he said. “We try to be extremely responsive. If you shop 10 banks, you will find a better loan rate or deposit rate, but our promise is we will be fair and responsive all the time.”
Molepske said it’s when the chips are down that Bank First really shines – whether that was during the economic downturn in 2008 or the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our single biggest new business day was right after Easter Sunday in 2020,” he said. “Everybody gets together for Easter and many talked about problems with their banks not getting their (Paycheck Protection Program), and our bankers were called upon the next day and all week after talking to family.”
Molepske said the same rang true when the financial crisis of 2008 hit.
“We picked up more market share then than at any other time in our history,” he said. “There is nothing like a good crisis when you’re consistent, responsive and do the right thing.”
Molepske said Bank First is clear on where their differentiation lies.
“Our product may be a commodity but our experience is not,” he said.
Bank First’s multigenerational customers and employees alike, Molepske said, are evidence of that.
“We have customers who are on the third generation of family members and also third generation of bankers,” he said. “We have customers who have banked with us for more than 100 years, and we’re family.”
Having an employee- and customer-first-centric approach, Molepske said, has paid dividends – literally.
Joining the organization in 2005, Molepske has been CEO since 2008.
During his tenure, he said he has seen what Bank First’s brand promise means to customers, and as an outgrowth of that, to the bank’s bottom line.
And, Molepske said, the bank has virtually no reliance on broker deposits – meaning it’s all local deposits with the only broker deposits coming into the picture through acquisitions.
Community banking for the win
Molepske said all Wisconsinites deserve to have a responsive banking relationship.
“People should expect more from their financial institutions than they’re getting as a whole, and if they’re not, look to one of our state’s community banks,” he said. “That’s part of what makes Wisconsin unique – the number of great community banks we are blessed to have.”
Molepske said Wisconsin is one of the most community-bank-intensive states in the nation and Northeast Wisconsin has some of the highest credit scores nationwide.
He said that’s a direct reflection of the people of character who live in many of the communities Bank First serves and allows the bank to offer what it does in terms of loan rates and savings rates.
“Our loan pricing in Northeast Wisconsin is less than the rest of our country, and our customers get a higher deposit rate,” he said. “That’s a correlation to the credit scores in the area and goes back to character.”
Molepske said Bank First is true to its Wisconsin roots as well, supporting a significant number of manufacturers and farmers.
“The cool thing about farms is that they’re manufacturing companies that you can grow more production of, and that are self-sustaining,” he said. “Seven or eight years ago, our ag business really took off – it’s our fastest-growing business line by far now.”
The bottom line speaks volumes
When he took the helm in 2008, Molepske said the bank had $660 million in assets.
He said that has since grown to $4.5 billion, and with it, the bank’s stock price has escalated as well.
According to its website (forbes.com), the Forbes America’s Best Banks list evaluates financial institutions across 10 metrics, including growth, credit quality, profitability and stock performance over a 12-month period.
Molepske said this recognition reflects Bank First’s strong performance during the 2024 calendar year and its role as a leader in the banking industry.
The bank’s net promoter score is a top performer as well, at 82, and its ranking as a top 5% performer in the country, Molepske said, allows it to remain an independently operated community bank.
“Being a top performer provides an exceptional return for our stakeholders and that allows us to maintain our independence,” he said. “We earn that every day by doing the right thing.”
And, Molepske said that is the case no matter the size or type of customer.
Though business banking brings in more money in total to the bottom line, given the size of the accounts, he said being a consumer customer is always an aspect of the bank relationship conversations.
“Even when we’re talking about a business customer, we want to take care of (their individual) accounts, and their employees’, and their mortgage loans and consolidations loans and hunting land products,” he said. “The largest portion of our business is not any more important than the consumer.”
Regardless of customer size, Molepske said being responsive is about finding the right product for the customer versus trying to sandwich the customer into an existing product.
“Everybody’s financial situation is different and how you fit them into customers’ needs is where innovation comes in,” Molepske said. “Our service representatives and tellers are servicing customers and solving challenges. Our customers don’t typically know what they want, so instead, we find out their needs and then we can suggest solutions.”
Molepske said that’s why listening is a crucial skill for all Bank First employees, with him leading by example.
“When I meet someone, I make sure I ask about them and get to know them,” he said. “Once they’re comfortable and we’ve gotten to know each other, we can migrate to ‘who is Bank First’ and what we have in a way that’s value-driven.”
