Lincoln Banking
Midlands Business Journal • JUNE 19, 2020 •
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Lincoln Business Journal Pages
A section prepared by the staff of the Midlands Business Journal A section prepared by the staff of the Midlands Business Journal
June 19, 2020
Lincoln banks rely on virtual channels as consumers seek essential services during crisis
market as “stable.” by Michelle Leach “Although individuals and families pracThrough recessions and global conflicts, financial institutions play vital roles in sup- ticed social distancing and traditional bankporting communities’ response and recovery. ing habits were challenged, life did not stop for them as financial transactions The current crisis is no exception. continued,” he said. “A great majority of businessPanzer noted that several years es were coming off of exceptional ago, Exchange Bank developed a years in 2019 with the outlook for crisis response plan — ensuring 2020 being positive,” said Brady that, in the event of a crisis situBauer, vice president of Five ation, they’re able to do all they Points Bank in Lincoln. “That all can to keep branches, bankers and came to a halt in late [first quarter channels of communication open of] 2020.” and available. Naturally, Bauer said, panic “Our crisis response plan ensued. As readers may know all includes a specific pandemic retoo well, owners wondered how Bauer sponse plan with the purpose of to keep employees, maintain adproviding Exchange Bank with procedures equate workloads, and continue operations. “Most are still experiencing these issues for mitigating the consequences of a panand will continue to do so for the foreseeable demic,” he said. “The plan enabled Exchange future,” he said. “The local banks did a phe- Bank to play a key role in protecting employnomenal job of stepping up to help customers, ees’ health and safety, while enhancing the whether that was with the SBA [Paycheck bank’s ability to remain functional during an Protection Program] loan program, assisting infectious outbreak.” So, in some respects, Panzer said adaptcustomers with loan modifications and other services to weather the storm.” And, while March to May were unsurprisingly slower, Bauer said businesses are reopening and people are getting back to work. So, they are starting to see things pick up. In fact, Bauer noted bank lobbies had recently reopened in late May. “We were fortunate enough to keep our drive-throughs open and still service customer needs,” he said. “We have had to adapt by conducting more business electronically, which has worked well thus far, and have some of our staff working from home for the time being. Upon re-opening our lobbies, we fully equipped them with as many protective measures as possible — hand sanitizer stations, gloves, masks, distance requirements.” MembersOwn Credit Union closed its lobbies in mid-March and quickly adapted, relying on e-signature and online services, and drive-through business, according to President Linda Carter. “And the most pressing need after protecting our health was finding ways to help our members who had lost jobs or had the possibility of losing their jobs,” she said. In addition to supporting jobless members and essential services, Carter surmised about the longer-term issues; the low-interest rate environment and the recession. “Loan demand and interest rate margins will be low for quite some time,” she said. Despite the emergence of COVID-19, Exchange Bank Lincoln President Robert A. Panzer characterized the local banking
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Linda Carter, president of MembersOwn Credit Union (file photo) ing has been “minimal” for the Nebraska to help with our online services,” he said. family-owned bank. “But, with the mechanisms already having “Many of our employees worked remote- been put in place to make these changes Continued on next page. ly from home and we increased staff presence
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VOL. 46 NO. 25
Strada Healthcare turns to tech to develop US network
THIS WEEK 'S ISSUE:
by Becky McCarville
Finding news ways to connect during COVID-19, Chocolat Abeille grows brand awareness. – Page 2
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Jodie McGill crafts innovative new format for legal practice. – Page 4
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Technology firms, clients carve out new ‘normals’ to secure efficiencies, save money. – Page 22
In 2016, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Joel Bessmer co-founded Strada Healthcare with his wife, Katherine Bessmer, after working on the bill that legalized direct primary care in Nebraska with then-state Sen. Merv Riepe. Nebraska was the 16th state to adopt DPC legislation. In 2018, Nebraska passed a bill that made direct primary care available to state employees. Now Strada Healthcare is in its second year of a pilot project that gives state employees the option to choose a high deductible health plan linked with Strada. “We’re looking at how that affects hospitalizations, emergency room visits, cost of care as well as a number of other outcomes,” Dr. Bessmer said. “We have some initial white papers and studies done with Burton Plumbing here in Omaha that shows we cut the per spend per employee by almost $400 per member per month and yet we improved every health care metric we measured and had far more visits and interactions at the primary care Continued on page 11.
Co-founder and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Joel Bessmer … Creating solutions to provide personalized, preventive health care directly to patients, bypassing insurance costs. (Photo by MBJ / Becky McCarville)
CFO Systems targets middle market firms with leadership team placement by Richard D. Brown
Two native Nebraskans with decades of varied, significant corporate leadership successes on their resumes are finding there’s strong growth opportunities throughout the nation for their 15-year-old business venture — CFO Systems, a company that provides financial and human resources leadership to middle market firms.
Managing Director Brett Frevert and President Steve Getzfrid are joined in their venture by directors Brad Johnson, Mark Nelson and Neal Greenburg. CFO Systems, headquartered in suite 2 at 10832 Old Mill Road, is growing offices and personnel in Vail, Denver, Lincoln, Des Moines, Hartford, and within the past year has moved into Kansas City Continued on page 12. Chris Brester, president of Brester Construction, at the new Bos Apartments on Saddle Creek Road, where the company was the general contractor.
Surveillance, science research and construction projects spur growth by Michelle Leach
From left, President Steve Getzfrid and Managing Director Brett Frevert … Aiming to expand into additional service lines.
Editor’s note: This article is part of a series sharing firsthand experiences from local organizations on how their respective industries are adapting to COVID-19. Capturing temperatures and ensuring mask usage via camera could be the new norm for security equipment. As a security solutions expert at Kidwell, Justin Peppard knows sophisticated systems intimately.
“When a lot of people think of ‘physical security,’ they think someone is going to steal something from the business, but video surveillance isn’t just for security — it’s for liability,” he said. For instance, Peppard recalled how a client’s system more than paid for itself after an employee was caught faking a fall. Additionally, retailers use cameras to identify strategies to grow their businesses; how shoppers flow Continued on page 21.