Jump to content

Bell Bank

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bell Bank
TypePrivate
IndustryBanking, Financial services, Mortgage, Insurance
Founded1966; 60 years ago (1966)
Headquarters
Fargo, North Dakota
,
U.S.
Key people
  • Richard Solberg (Board Chairman)
  • Michael Solberg (President & CEO)
Number of employees
2,000
Websitebell.bank

Bell Bank is a privately owned bank headquartered in Fargo, North Dakota,[1] with assets of $14 billion.[2] Bell Bank, which employs more than 1,900 people,[3] has 27 full-service banking locations in North Dakota, Minnesota and Arizona,[4] and mortgage locations in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Kansas, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, North Dakota, Tennessee and Wisconsin.[5] State Bankshares is Bell Bank's parent company.[6]

History

[edit]

Bell Bank was founded as State Bank of Fargo in 1966[7] with 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 acquired 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,[12] which administers flexible benefits, COBRA and health savings accounts.[10] Bell also started HealthcareBank, one of the largest health care savings account banks.[10]

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.[13]

In 2011, the company acquired Minneapolis-based Bell Mortgage, expanding its reach into the Twin Cities and Phoenix, Ariz.[7] The company changed its name from State Bank & Trust to Bell State Bank & Trust in 2012[14] and to Bell Bank in Aug., 2016.[8] In 2013, Bell acquired Minneapolis-based The Business Bank and its Prime Mortgage Division.[15] Bell Bank Mortgage expanded its offices into Wisconsin and New Mexico in 2018,[16][17] Florida, Missouri and Tennessee in 2019,[18][19] and Kansas in 2020.[20]

Bell launched an equipment finance division in Minneapolis in 2018, to serve the manufacturing, transportation, construction and agriculture industries.[21]

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.[22]

Bell Bank opened its Chandler, Ariz., branch in January, 2019.

Bell opened its first full-service bank branch Chandler, Arizonain 2019,[23] and its second in Phoenix – Biltmore in 2020.[24]

The same year, Bell expanded into Forest Lake, Minn.,[25] and Duluth, Minn., renovating and occupying the downtown Temple Opera Building.[26]

In 2021, Bell opened a branch in downtown Minneapolis' City Center[27] and announced its entrance into the Denver market.[28] Bell also purchased a 12-story building at 520 Main Ave. in downtown Fargo.[29]

Bell finalized its building lease for a new mortgage servicing center in Owensboro, Kentucky, in 2022.[30] Bell also launched Bell Business Credit, a specialty lending team providing asset-based lending and factoring services for working capital intensive companies.[31]

In 2024, Bell opened Bell Tower,[32] its new, 190,000-square-foot corporate headquarters in downtown Fargo.

The company plans to remain privately owned.[13]

Leadership

[edit]
Bell Bank President and CEO Michael Solberg speaks to employees.

In 2014, Michael Solberg was named CEO of Bell Bank. Following his hire in 1998, Solberg began serving as chief operating officer in 2004, then president in 2009. Solberg succeeded his father, Richard Solberg, who had been CEO since 1982.[7][33]

Richard Solberg is the board chairman and a company shareholder.[7] 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.[34] Other major shareholders have included Thomas "Buck" Snortland[9] and his son, Thomas "Mickey" Snortland, both farmers from Sharon, North Dakota.[35]

Thomas "Mickey" Snortland, who was also a longtime director of the bank, died in 2013 of an apparent heart attack.[36]

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.[35] 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.[7] In 2022, Richard Solberg received the Legacy Leader Award from the Fargo Moorhead West Fargo Chamber of Commerce.[4]

Company culture

[edit]

Several media outlets, including USA Today, People magazine and the BBC have written stories about Bell Bank's culture.[37] Bell's mission statement is Happy Employees! Happy Customers![38] Michael Solberg says the bank's growth and profits are due to the way the company treats its employees.[39] In 2016, Bell announced it would make an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) part of employees' retirement benefits.[34] A portion of each employee's retirement funds will be invested in State Bankshares stock.[34]

Sponsorships and endorsements

[edit]

Bell has formed partnerships with athletes and other celebrities with North Dakota and Minnesota ties. Some of them work with Bell on charitable causes.[40] They include:

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Bell Bank | Company Overview & News". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  2. ^ "Largest U.S. Banks by Asset Size (2025)". MX. Retrieved 5 December 2025.
  3. ^ "Bell Bank". Fortune. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  4. ^ a b "Heralded as 'a leader's leader,' Bell Bank's Richard Solberg honored with Legacy Leader award". InForum. 2022-10-18. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  5. ^ "Locations". bell.bank. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  6. ^ "Minnetonka-based The Business Bank Sold to Bell State". Twin Cities Business. 2013-01-18. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  7. ^ a b c d e "Son Succeeding Father As Bell State Bank & Trust CEO". Twin Cities Business. 2014-12-27. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  8. ^ a b "Bell State Bank and Trust simplifies name". InForum. 2016-07-29. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  9. ^ a b "Bob Buth, President Bell State Bank". Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  10. ^ a b c "Solberg father, son named 2012 Bankers of Year". Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2025-01-25.
  11. ^ "Fargo financial institutions join". Archived from the original on 2017-12-22. Retrieved 2025-01-25.
  12. ^ "Discovery Benefits, Inc". www.discoverybenefits.com. Archived from the original on 2008-03-14.
  13. ^ a b Tribune, Patrick Kennedy Star (18 January 2019). "Bell Bank's parent company sells Fargo-based sister company for $425 million". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  14. ^ "State Bank Trust to Buy Downtown Fargo Building". www.inforum.com. Retrieved January 27, 2025.
  15. ^ "Prairie Business". Grand Forks Herald. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  16. ^ Gawarecki, Mara (2018-08-28). "Bell expands in Wisconsin with mortgage acquisition". BankBeat. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  17. ^ "North Dakota bank to open mortgage office in Uptown". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  18. ^ "Leading Lenders Series: Bell Bank Mortgage". Orlando Magazine. 2020-07-10. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  19. ^ Ojha, Radhika. "Bell Bank Mortgage Appoints Regional Head". DSNews. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  20. ^ Aurellano, Arnie (2020-05-08). "Notable mortgage industry hires and promotions, April 27-May 8". Scotsman Guide. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  21. ^ Morris, William (2018-10-08). "Bell Bank launches equipment finance unit in Minneapolis | Finance & Commerce". Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  22. ^ "Bell Bank to purchase Fargo-based Warner and Company Insurance and its subsidiaries in Grand Forks and Detroit Lakes". InForum. 2019-01-23. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  23. ^ "Ribbon Cutting for Bell Bank". Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  24. ^ "Bell Bank opens new Biltmore-area branch; Western State Bank eyes new North Phoenix location". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  25. ^ "Bell Bank Opens New Branch in Forest Lake MN". bell.bank. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  26. ^ Busche, Kelly (2020-03-10). "Bell Bank renovating, moving to Duluth's Temple Opera Building". Duluth News Tribune. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  27. ^ "Bell Bank outlines plans for City Center branch in downtown Minneapolis". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  28. ^ "Experienced Banker Kern Hired to Lead Bell Bank Expansion into Denver - News | Equipment Finance Advisor". www.equipmentfa.com. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  29. ^ "$100 million Bell Tower marching toward completion as generational project for Bell Bank". InForum. 2023-08-10. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
  30. ^ Kight, Adam (2022-05-17). "Bell Bank finalizes lease for new location in Owensboro". WEVV 44News. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  31. ^ "Bell Bank establishes Bell Business Credit". AZ Big Media. 2022-11-16. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  32. ^ "Bell Bank opens new headquarters building in downtown Fargo". Grand Forks Herald. 2024-05-30. Retrieved 2025-01-17.
  33. ^ Johnson, Brian (2014-12-17). "Michael Solberg is new CEO at Bell State Bank & Trust". Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  34. ^ a b c "Bell Bank to offer stock ownership plan to employees". InForum. 2016-11-23. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  35. ^ a b "Bell State Bank & Trust Names New CEO". www.valleynewslive.com. 2014-12-17. Archived from the original on 2015-07-03.
  36. ^ "Bell State Bank & Trust majority stockholder dies". Archived from the original on 2017-12-22. Retrieved 2025-01-25.
  37. ^ "Michael Solberg". Bush Foundation. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  38. ^ Wieck, Angie (2012-02-02). "Solberg father, son named 2012 Bankers of Year". www.inforum.com. Archived from the original on 2016-09-21.
  39. ^ "No. 8: Bell State Bank & Trust". American Banker. 2015-08-26. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  40. ^ a b c d e f "Gophers coach Whalen signs endorsement deal with Bell Bank". Bemidji Pioneer. 2019-01-22. Archived from the original on 2019-01-24.
  41. ^ "Former Arizona Cardinal Larry Fitzgerald inks new endorsement deal with Bell Bank". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  42. ^ Stotts, Ryan (2020-07-21). "Actor Josh Duhamel signs deal to become brand ambassador for Bell Bank". InForum. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  43. ^ "Business People: United Theological Seminary names Molly T. Marshall permanent president". Twin Cities. 2022-02-20. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  44. ^ "Business People: Xcel's Energy's Ben Fowke to retire as CEO". Twin Cities. 2021-05-16. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  45. ^ "Matt Cullen signs endorsement deal with Bell Bank". InForum. 2019-10-01. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  46. ^ "Business People: Bausch, Himle named to Canterbury Park board". Twin Cities. 2019-10-07. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  47. ^ "Business People: U.S. Bank vice chair Godridge to retire". Twin Cities. 2020-02-03. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  48. ^ "Bell Champion Mark Tarbell". bell.bank. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  49. ^ BSCHEELTRI http://www.bscheeltri.com/about.html [dead link]
  50. ^ Tribune, Jack White Star (17 April 2018). "Minnesota United, Bell Bank announce gate partnership, charity support". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  51. ^ "Bell Bank becomes the official bank of Arizona Cardinals". AZ Big Media. 2023-09-18. Retrieved 2023-11-02.
  52. ^ "PHOENIX SUNS, PHOENIX MERCURY AND BELL BANK ANNOUNCE A MULTI-YEAR PARTNERSHIP NAMING BELL BANK THE OFFICIAL BANKING PARTNER". NBA. Retrieved 5 December 2025.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bell_Bank&oldid=1359677964"