Nebraska Bank launched a network conversion, core conversion, Office 365 conversion and a bank-wide rebrand in March 2022 as it worked to keep up with branch expansion and asset growth.  

The rapidly growing Dodge, Neb.-based bank could not keep up with scaling on its former system, Automated System (ASI), the bank’s IT Director Bernice Coward, told Bank Automation News.  

“It was time to be able to expand a little more efficiently, a little more gracefully,” she said.

The bank, formerly Farmers State Bank, started vetting new technology providers, including Jack Henry and CSI, she said. Ultimately, it selected Jack Henry’s SilverLake core. 

On ASI, the bank’s nine branches were not connected to one another. They had autonomous firewalls, equipment and routers, Coward said, which increased the risk of system failure, including risk to security, controls and processes. 

Jack Henry brought everything onto one platform.  

“That was huge for us,” Coward said. 

ASI’s core Insite is still the provider for Salina, Kan.-based Bennington State Bank; Elkader, Iowa-based FreedomBank; and Kimball, Minn.-based Harvest Bank. 

Building out platform

In addition to Jack Henry’s SilverLake core, Nebraska Bank chose Jack Henry’s Banno and Profitstars website design, implemented Jack Henry’s Synergy Document Management and Gladiator Hosted Network Solutions. 

Through Synergy, the bank streamlines processes, including reducing duplicate document uploading, document checking and signature comparison as well as reducing human error in the loan application process, Chief Financial Officer Colton Stull told BAN.  

The technology, integrated into the bank’s infrastructure, stores electronic documents, including reports, PDFs, photos and applications, according to Jack Henry’s website. 

Using the tech provider’s Gladiator Hosted Network Solutions, the bank moved its IT infrastructure to Jack Henry’s cloud computing environment, Coward said, which helped the IT department grow.  

The bank joins Panama City Beach, Fla.-based Innovation Credit Union and Nashville, Tenn.-based FirstBank in leveraging Gladiator Hosted Network Solutions, according to a Jack Henry release. 

In fact, demand for Jack Henry’s hosted network has increased from both credit unions and banks, Nick Shirk, national director of sales and information security and technology solutions at Jack Henry, told BAN.

“As more financial institutions have moved to servicing clients through digital channels and the need for 24/7/365 availability, having a resilient and agile infrastructure has become more important than ever,” he said. 

Workflow automation

Although some processes have already improved through Jack Henry, there was a learning curve on the platform. Nebraska Bank estimated it would take three months, but it took nine to 12 months, Stull said. 

For example, there can be several ways to complete tasks, and exploring to determine which is the most efficient for the bank takes time.  

“You don’t know which way as a bank you prefer until you really get into it and test the different ways,” he said. 

As the bank continues to learn the platform, it is looking into other products to implement, including workflow automation, Coward said.  

“Once we get our workflow project up, it’s going to be even more efficient,” she said. 

Scaling the bank

Since converting to Jack Henry last year, the bank has increased its asset size 16% year over year to $435 million, Stull told BAN. Now, with everything on one platform and a new name for the brand, Nebraska Bank “encompasses who we are more,” he said. 

According to banking data and analytics platform FI Navigator, the bank joins the following banks in selecting Jack Henry’s SilverLake for core processing: 

• $72 million, Lowry, Minn.-based Lowry State Bank; 
• $503 million, Baraboo, Wis.-based Baraboo State Bank; 
• $586 million, Blakely, Ga.-based First State Bank of Blakely; and 
• $970 million, Bastrop, Texas-based First National Bank; 

Nebraska Bank’s conversion and rebrand follow the rebrand of $429 million, Missouri-based Verimore Bank, which completed a digital overhaul in August 2022.  

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