Tribe to open local bank

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribe is responsible for running a number of operational areas, from health care to social services to law enforcement, and will now add banking services to the list.

Eagle Bank is expected to open in the early part of next year after they are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. It will only be the 10th bank owned by a tribe in the U.S. and while it is owned by the Tribe, Eagle Bank president Martin Olsson said that it is not a "tribal bank."

"There has been a bit of a misunderstanding because when you say 'tribal bank' a lot of people think that it is like other tribal programs and only eligible to tribal members," he said. "It is a community bank that happens to be owned by the Tribe."

Eagle Bank has identified the entire Flathead Reservation as a target market with an emphasis on the Polson area.

"There is more economic activity centered around the greater Polson area," he said.

Once the bank becomes profitable, he explained, it will branch out to other communities.

"What we hoping to be able to do is develop relationships and continue relationships that we have already developed and provide good service at competitive prices," Olsson said.

"The issue has been for a long time that Indian people had not had access to credit in the past at the same level as non-Indians," explained Bob Gauthier, volunteer chairman of the Salish and Kootenai Bancorporation.

Eagle Bank, he explained, is hoping to change that while offering the "financial literacy" that is so important for tribal members.

"We want it to be an educational tool," he said.

In 1988 the Tribe had the opportunity to purchase a bank on the reservation and hired a consulting firm to see if the Tribe would be a logical owner. The firm recommended against the project, but said the Tribe would be a great contender, Gauthier said.

In 1990, the Tribe had another opportunity to get into banking by partnering up with a bank that was expanding. That bank rebuffed the Tribe's efforts and said they weren't interested. The Tribe then looked to start a credit union, but they were turned down for a grant to start one up.

So finally, in 2005, the Tribe acquired the building that used to be First Interstate on the south side of Polson, and plans to be competitive with every bank in the area.

The Tribe has one of the most successful lending portfolios in the nation, Gauthier explained.

"Owning a bank and the potential long term growth and earning opportunity is the primary reason for pursuing a bank," he said. "We make a presence in this community and we don't think it is very well represented in the banking business. We want banking and the career opportunities that go with it."

In short, banks make money, and when the Tribe makes money, it benefits the entire community, he said.