Twin Cities bank expands Sioux Falls presence with retail branch
June 3, 2024
A St. Paul-based bank with a fintech team in Sioux Falls has added a retail branch in the city.
Sunrise Banks has opened a location inside a building at 5105 S. Crossing Place where it already had the home base for its national products and fintech team.
About 15 years ago, the Minnesota-based bank had started to build its prepaid card and fintech business and had a handful of employees living in Sioux Falls and commuting weekly.
“As those divisions grew, we found an incredibly talented pool of candidates in the Sioux Falls area to hire for these businesses,” president and CEO David Reiling said.
“So that led us to leasing space and establishing Sioux Falls as our home base for our national products and fintech teams. From there, those teams grew organically to what we have today. We really followed the talent in this case and felt the ecosystem in Sioux Falls was the right fit for these teams.”
For now, the 34-person team is based together, although the company is evaluating real estate options for a permanent branch location, he said.
Damon Sehr is the bank’s market president for the Sioux Falls area. Dan Moline has been hired as the branch manager and Elsie Smith is the relationship banker.
“We do plan to hire more staff for our branch as we grow and look to establish a permanent location in the community,” Reiling said.
Sunrise Banks is a U.S. Treasury-certified community development bank.
“What this means is that we prioritize social responsibility, and community impact,” he said. “We incorporate those values into our essential financial products, services and partnerships.”
The Sioux Falls branch offers personal banking products and services such as checking and savings accounts and CDs along with mortgages and business banking services, including commercial real estate, SBA and specialty lending options.
“We appeal to a wide range of customers and organizations whose own values align with ours as a mission-based bank. These would be people, businesses and nonprofit organizations that care about community development and conservation,” Reiling said.
“We also work with a lot of customers who have been underserved – or not served at all – by traditional banks. This includes people who live in low-to-moderate income communities, immigrant families, small business owners and entrepreneurs, especially women and people of color.”
More than 60 percent of the bank’s lending goes to community and economic development. The organization also is a certified B Corp, which looks at its social impact in addition to its financials. Some of the more unique offerings include:
Impact Deposit Fund: With these checking, savings and CD accounts, customers can choose to have their money support projects and customers that are focused on community and economic redevelopment, especially in low-to-moderate income areas.
Net Zero Banking: Customers can choose to have their deposits support projects focused on reducing or avoiding carbon emissions. This is currently open to business customers and will soon be available for retail customers. There also are lending options for customers and businesses that are focused on energy efficiency and conservation.
Pathway2Home Mortgage: This allows customers who don’t have a Social Security Number to secure a mortgage by using their Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN). This is especially helpful for immigrant families who want to buy a home and begin building generational stability and wealth, Reiling said.
“We have several certifications that show that we are doing good, and not just talking about it,” Reiling said. “Sunrise Banks received its B Corp certification in 2009. Currently, we are the only Certified B Corp of any kind in South Dakota and remain the only B Corp bank in Minnesota.”
The bank also is a U.S. Treasury certified Community Development Financial Institution, or CDFI.
“As a CDFI we work to generate economic growth and opportunity in distressed communities by injecting new sources of capital into neighborhoods that lack financing,” Reiling said. “Sixty percent or more of our lending is focused on customers and projects in low-to-moderate income areas. This shows our commitment to strengthening our communities, and being proactive when it comes to equal access in banking.”
Additionally, Reiling chairs the Global Alliance for Banking on Values, an organization that works to create sustainable economic, social and environmental development. It’s made up of more than 70 mission-based banks in more than 40 countries who are striving to make the financial system more accessible for traditionally underserved consumers and small businesses.
The bank itself aims to take a collaborative approach, including with other financial institutions and partners in the public and private sectors, he said.
“This is a model that has worked well for us for 30 years,” Reiling said. “We want to be able to multiply that success and good work with other organizations to benefit Sioux Falls and the surrounding communities.”
In addition to Sioux Falls, there are two retail branches in Minneapolis and two in St. Paul. There’s the potential to add branches in Sioux Falls and potentially in other parts of South Dakota, Reiling said.
“When we look at expansion, we think about having a branch or other presence in areas that support our mission and values,” he said. “We think about location, access, community needs and opportunities, among other things.”
Branch hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
