Greg Deckard has made a career out of wearing multiple hats at small community banks here. He confesses, though, that the breadth of his responsibilities widened considerably after he became president and CEO of State National Bank here in May 2001, at the comparatively young age of 37.


Ive never worked so hard at anything in my life, he says.


The now 100-year-old financial institution was in the midst of major changes. Over the prior couple of years, it had constructed a North Side branch, had moved its headquarters to Spokane from tiny Garfield, Wash., had launched a crucial strategic plan to diversify its loan portfolio, and had replaced two presidents in quick succession.


State National endured much of the painand expenseof that transition last year, as evidenced by its minus 0.84 percent return on average assets and minus 8.05 percent return on average equity. It has rebounded sharply through the first half of this year, however, boosting its return on assets to 1.61 percent and its return on equity to 17.5 percent, both of which are considered good by industry standards.


The bank has shown dramatic turnaround through the first six months, Deckard says. Im very proud of it, and I know that our directors are satisfied with what weve accomplished thus far.


Meanwhile, in the last five years, dating back to shortly before State National launched its diversification strategy, the banks total assets have grown to $44.4 million, as of June 30, from $11.3 million. In the same time, deposits have grown to $40.1 from $9.8 million, and loans have increased to $36.2 million from $7.6 million. Deckard says the bank achieved those gains despite minimal marketing.


The Spokane market has received us very well, he says. Based on all of the indicators hes seeing now, and the prospects for future growth, he says he believes the bank has turned the corner.


State Nationals goal for the next five years is to be a $100 million bank, he says, adding that he believes the tiny bank probably can reach that benchmark asset level within the next three years, based on its current rate of growth.


The significance of the $100 million figure is that certain economies of scale kick in when a financial institution reaches that size, Deckard says. Were not wanting to grow just for growths sake, he says.


Of last years difficulties, he says, there were some losses that we budgeted, related partly to expansion and relocation costs and writing off some bad loans, and that has allowed us to start with a clean slate. In that vein, he jokingly refers to State National as a 100-year-old, startup bank.


Were having a lot of fun right now, he says. Its been a lot of work, but Im looking forward to the next five years.


More branches envisioned


State National currently has three branchesthe North Side branch at 9729 N. Nevada; a Spokane Valley branch at 12902 E. Sprague, where its headquarters also now are located; and a branch in Garfield. It doesnt have any immediate plans to open more branches, but its plan for the next five years calls for it to expand to a total of six or seven branches in Spokane and Whitman counties, Deckard says.


Ive got about seven locations Im looking at, he says. The bank might not open another branch for 12 to 18 months, but it wants to be nimble enough to respond quickly if market and personnel factors warrant moving ahead sooner, he adds.


Although additional branches may be a ways off, the bank plans shortly to begin remodeling about 4,000 square feet of basement space in the 13,000-square-foot building it occupies in the Valley to accommodate its expanding administrative functions, Deckard says. It also expects to add four or five more employees by the end of this year to help handle an increasing workload, he says. The bank currently employs 21 people.


State National was founded in Garfield in 1902 by members of the Johnson family, who wanted to open a hardware store, but decided on a bank instead because the town already had two hardware stores. It focused for most of the century on serving farmers and farming-related businesses, but decided several years ago, after losing market share, to diversify its loan portfolio and expand into Spokane.


It opened its 3,000-square-foot North Side branch, located behind Northpointe Plaza shopping center, in April 1999, and its Valley branch in February 2000, moving its headquarters there from Garfield at that same time.


Deckard joined State National in September 1999 as a senior vice president and chief operating officer and, in that capacity, was responsible for many of the decisions related to the remodeling of the Valley headquarters building, in addition to his other tasks. He became president and CEO in the spring of last year. His predecessor, Brad Wright, had resigned in December 2000, and Wrights predecessor, Jeff Geier, had left the bank in 1999.


Its been a challenging year at the helm, Deckard says. I kind of set the goal that I would be running a bank someday. I just didnt think it would be this quick.


Of the recent-years administrative upheaval, he says, I really value the employees who have stuck through that and been adaptable to change. He notes that they also were forced to cope with a whole change of culture for the bank, with the move to Spokane and as the agriculture-related portion of the banks loan portfolio plummeted from roughly 70 percent to approximately 10 percent over three years.


Staying close to its roots


State National may have diversified and moved its head offices to the city, but Deckard asserts that it hasnt forsaken its rural roots or what he calls its down-home values. I think thats the foundation of the bank, that approach to service, he says.


That suits Deckard just fine, since thats the type of small community-bank environment he gravitated to from the outset of his professional career. Raised in the Valley, he graduated from Central Valley High School, then attended Eastern Washington University, where he graduated summa cum laude in 1986 with a bachelors degree in management and finance.


While he was still in college, Spokane-based Farmers & Merchants Bank hired him for a part-time position that exposed him to senior management decision-making. Upon graduation, he says, he declined job opportunities with a couple of larger banks to stay at Farmers & Merchants because he liked its hometown-bank culture.


Deckard went through a management-training program there over several years, learning every job position, and, during nine years of full-time employment there, served as manager of the banks dealer center and manager of its Sprague-and-Argonne branch, as well as being a commercial loan officer.


He left Farmers & Merchants in 1993 to become a vice president and commercial loan officer at Spokane-based Inland Northwest Bank.


While there, he was involved extensively in the planning for that banks Northpointe branch, at 1021 E. Hawthorne, which he then managed from its opening in 1995 until leaving the bank in 1999 to join State National.


Now, back in the Valley, he says, Its nice to be running a bank right in the part of town you grew up in.


State National currently has 51 shareholders and is governed by a 13-member board, whose members hold 80 percent of the banks stock. The board includes third-generation members of the founding Johnson family. Deckard, who also is one of the directors, asserts that the board has shown more patience and long-term vision through the recent transition than might have been the case at a larger institution.


This to them is about pride of ownership and being part of something that will grow, he says. Certainly, they want a return, but it doesnt need to be overnight.


Meanwhile, State National has embarked on a capital campaign, seeking to build on the comparatively modest $4 million it currently has in capital, Deckard says.


For us to continue to grow, we need more capital, he says. However, he adds, We desire to maintain a closely held situation. If we look to go outside (current shareholders in search of capital), it will be a handful of people.