Meet Your Local Business: Prior Lake State Bank

Prior Lake State Bank

16677 Duluth Avenue SE
Prior Lake, MN 55372
(952) 447-2101
Fax: (952) 447-3337
http://www.priorlakestatebank.com

Name one business that has been open in Prior Lake for 105 years.  That’s 105 years, yes, 5 more years than an entire century.  We’re referring to, of course, Prior Lake’s venerable Prior Lake State Bank.  It’s a Barness family owned bank that takes its role in the community very seriously.  Bank President and Director, Bob Facente, Jr. calls what he does “the essence of community engagement.  I enjoy getting up and coming to work here”, he said.  ““I can’t think of any other profession that would have been more rewarding.

He has a good point.   His banking history is long and illustrious.  While in college he took a job as a collector and right after college he took his first job at Marquett Bank before finally settling in at Prior Lake State Bank.  In retrospect, it appears like a match made in heaven.  Fewer banks are more solid and have a closer relationship inside their communities.  In 2008, at the height of the financial crisis, the bank received a coveted five star rating from Bauer Financial for safety and soundness.  “We’re a very highly rated bank and proud of it”, he says.  “We’re a community bank in the true sense of the word.  Our business and personal clients are family to us.  Everyone in the bank wants to feel as though they have made a difference and genuinely impacted our customer needs.” 

The bank moved to its present location in 1979 and today boasts approximately 40 employees.  It named Bob as its new President in 2011.  His passion for the banking industry extends past his direct duties with the bank.  He’s a committee member of the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) and sits on the board of directors of the Independent Community Bankers of Minnesota.  Independent Community Bankers of Minnesota was formally organized in 1962 as Independent Bankers of Minnesota to represent the interests of "independent unit banks" in Minnesota. The word "Community", which Bob loves, was added in 1992 to reflect the organizations relationship with and support for local community-focused banks. 

Bob and his wife have two grown children and four grandchildren.  It’s the grandchildren that will get him talking and smiling more than any subject one can bring up.  “We’re blessed that they live so close to us and we can see them so often”, he said.  The expression in his eyes and tone in his voice is indicative of a consummate professional with his priorities in firm order, much like the bank he presides over.