mainly been in commercial real estate, C&I loans, personal loans,” Dreiling reports.“We have a number of individuals that are employed at the University of Kansas, or for the city or the hospital, that buy rental properties. That’s been a pretty good side business for a lot of our customers. So, we have a pretty good relationship with some of the local realtors and investors.” As a community bank, every loan is assessed by a committee that includes three board members and all loan officers.“The decisions are made locally and in a timely fashion,” Little relays. Despite fluctuations in interest rates and material costs, he adds that the This personal approach benefits Great American Bank in many ways. Dreiling conveys, “When you have a customer that is satisfied and happy with your services, that trust then goes to their friends, their family. We do less cold calling now in the last 10 years than we did the first 10 years of the bank existing, because a lot of our new business is referral business, and that’s pretty satisfying.” SUPPORTING LOCAL GROWTH Although agriculture is important for many Kansas banks, Great American Bank’s loan portfolio reflects the character of its local market.“Our emphasis has 99 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 12, ISSUE 11 GREAT AMERICAN BANK
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