Oct. 22, 2021

North Dakota-based First International Bank & Trust has purchased the former First Premier Bank headquarters as its next location in Sioux Falls.

The plan is to renovate the building on the southwest corner of 14th Street and Minnesota Avenue and open sometime next year.

Premier moved to the northeast corner.

The purchase comes less than a year after FIBT’s acquisition of Sodak Home Loans, which established its first Sioux Falls location near 57th Street & Western Avenue.

The bank also bought land at the northwest corner of 69th Street and Minnesota Avenue last year and plans to develop it into a full-service branch.

“We’ve hit the ground running in the Sioux Falls community, and this expansion will allow us to further build out our team of financial experts,” president Peter Stenehjem said in a statement. “We look forward to welcoming more customers, offering all of the services you would expect from an innovative and growing bank.”

FIBT recently hired Sioux Falls banking veteran Jason Appel as its Sioux Falls community president.

“I’ve spent the last 15 years serving the Sioux Falls business community, and I’m excited to continue doing so as part of FIBT,” Appel said. “We can do some amazing things for this city and its community members. I’m honored to build out our strong community bank presence and introduce what it means to ‘Live First.’”

North Dakota bank enters Sioux Falls market with acquisition, land purchase