Question 1

What is Bell Bank?

Accepted Answer

Bell Bank is one of the largest independently owned banks in the United States, headquartered in Fargo, North Dakota. With over $14 billion in assets and more than 1,900 employees, Bell Bank provides comprehensive financial services through 27 full-service banking locations and extensive mortgage operations. The bank serves small and medium-sized businesses, professionals, and individuals across North Dakota, Minnesota, and Arizona, with mortgage operations extending to 11 additional states.

Bell Bank is privately owned by the Solberg and Snortland families, along with approximately 140 additional stockholders and employees through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP).

Question 2

When was Bell Bank founded?

Accepted Answer

Bell Bank was founded in 1966 as State Bank of Fargo by Thomas "Buck" Snortland, a farmer and businessman from Sharon, North Dakota, along with other local community and business leaders. The bank opened as a single location in the Northport Shopping Center in Fargo.

Buck Snortland established the bank to provide services he felt other banks weren't delivering, with a vision to create a great place to work and do business. In 1982, Richard Solberg was named president, steering the bank's growth. The bank expanded through strategic acquisitions, including Northern Capital Trust in 2003 and Minneapolis-based Bell Mortgage in 2011.

In 2012, the bank rebranded as Bell State Bank & Trust following the Bell Mortgage acquisition, and simplified its name to Bell Bank in 2016. Michael Solberg, Richard's son, was named CEO in 2014. In 2016, the founding families created an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) to share stewardship of the company with employees.

Question 3

Where is Bell Bank headquartered?

Accepted Answer

Bell Bank is headquartered in Fargo, North Dakota, in the newly constructed Bell Tower building at 520 Main Avenue in downtown Fargo. The 12-story Bell Tower, which opened in 2024, serves as the bank's 190,000-square-foot corporate headquarters. The bank purchased this building in 2021 and completed a full remodel to create a modern corporate campus.

Question 4

Where does Bell Bank operate?

Accepted Answer

Bell Bank operates full-service banking locations across North Dakota, Minnesota, and Arizona, with 27 branches total. Key markets include the Fargo-Moorhead area, Minnesota lakes area, Twin Cities region (Minneapolis-St. Paul), Duluth, Phoenix metro, and Chandler.

Mortgage operations extend far beyond the core banking footprint, with offices in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Kansas, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, North Dakota, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. The bank also operates a mortgage servicing center in Owensboro, Kentucky, and has a loan production office in Denver, Colorado.

Bell Bank maintains a dominant presence in its home market, holding approximately 43% deposit market share in the Fargo-Moorhead-West Fargo area.

Question 5

What services does Bell Bank offer?

Accepted Answer

Bell Bank provides a comprehensive range of financial products and services. Retail banking services include checking and savings accounts, mortgages, home equity loans, and consumer lending products.

Commercial banking features business loans, commercial real estate financing, equipment finance, asset-based lending, and factoring services through Bell Business Credit. Specialty services include wealth management and investment services through Bell State Bank & Trust division, insurance products through Bell Insurance (acquired in 2019), SBA lending as a preferred SBA lender, and treasury management for businesses.

Digital banking platforms offer online banking, mobile banking, and 24/7 account access. Bell Bank also operates HealthcareBank, one of the largest health care savings account banks in the nation.

The bank offers extended service hours and maintains high accessibility for customers, reflecting its founding principle of being available when customers need banking services.

Question 6

What makes Bell Bank unique?

Accepted Answer

Bell Bank's distinctive Pay It Forward program, launched in 2007 by CEO Michael Solberg, gives full-time employees $1,000 and part-time employees $500 annually to donate to people and organizations in need. Since its inception, the program has distributed over $25 million in employee-driven charitable giving.

The bank operates with a people-first philosophy captured in its mission: "happy employees, happy customers." This culture has earned Bell Bank recognition as a Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2022.

Bell Bank pioneered extended banking hours when it was founded, operating 9am-9pm Monday through Friday when most banks closed at 3pm. The bank was also among the first in the Fargo area to offer free checking with no minimum balance and to refund ATM fees.

As one of the largest independently owned banks in the nation, Bell Bank has grown from $28 million in assets at a single location to over $14 billion in assets across multiple states while remaining privately owned. The bank maintains a 5-star rating from Bauer Financial, the highest rating awarded, indicating strong financial soundness.

Question 7

What type of financial institution is Bell Bank?

Accepted Answer

Bell Bank is a State-Chartered Commercial Bank regulated by state banking authorities and the FDIC. The bank operates as a full-service community bank with a strong commercial banking focus.

Despite its significant size and asset base exceeding $14 billion, Bell Bank functions as a community bank that emphasizes relationship banking and personal service. The institution is privately held by the Solberg and Snortland families, employees through the ESOP, and approximately 140 additional shareholders, allowing it to focus on long-term growth rather than quarterly earnings pressures typical of publicly traded banks.

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About Bell Bank in the United States