Stearns Bank Named One of the Best Banks to Work For

The Bank Makes the Top 5 For the 2023 List

St. Cloud, Minn. (December 1, 2023) – Stearns Bank, N.A. has been named one of the 2023 Best Banks to Work For. American Banker has partnered with Best Companies Group to identify banks that excel at creating positive and supportive workplaces for employees.

This year 90 banks earned a spot in the ranking of Best Banks to Work For, based on an anonymous employee survey and a thorough review of the benefits and perks offered. The full 2023 Best Banks to Work For list is featured at www.americanbanker.com.

“The banks recognized on this list are trying hard to create workplaces that employees want to join,” said Chana R. Schoenberger, Editor-in-Chief of American Banker. “Especially during this moment when companies are experiencing a shift in how, where, and how much employees work, banks are paying attention to how they can best retain their people.”

On the 2023 list, Stearns Bank was ranked No. 5 – an impressive climb from its 2022 ranking at No. 15. It is the fourth time that Stearns Bank has been recognized by the annual Best Banks to Work For program. The survey and awards program is designed to identify and honor banks with the best cultures for helping employees thrive.

“The culture at Stearns Bank is thriving with a sense of community and belonging,” said Stearns Bank Chief Human Resources Officer, Pam Bjerke. “Ongoing input and feedback from our team members is critical to the success of our company. And we are incredibly proud of our advancement on this influential list of our industry peers!”

Determining the Best Banks to Work For involved a two-step process that included evaluating workplace policies, practices, and demographics along with an employee survey.

About Stearns Bank N.A.

Minnesota-based Stearns Bank National Association is a $2.8 billion, independently owned financial institution with locations in Minnesota, Florida and Arizona, and over 35,000 small business customers nationwide. Stearns Bank is consistently recognized as one of the Best Banks to Work For, most recently ranked by American Banker as the 5^th best bank to work for among banks in the nation, while earning top rankings based on its strong capital and earnings as one of the nation’s highest-performing banks. The Independent Banker’s 2023 “Best of the Best” ranks Stearns Bank as the 4^th best-performing bank in the U.S. among banks having more than $1 billion in assets based on banks’ 3-year average Return on Assets. Stearns Bank’s financial strength and success is achieved by Stearns Bank becoming one of the most prominent community impact lenders in the nation through effective public-private partnerships and innovative local initiatives with community organizations, CDFIs, and Minority Deposit Institutions across the country. Stearns Bank specializes in nationwide affordable housing, workforce and multifamily housing, commercial construction lending, build-to-suit and CRE-repositioning lending, family office and lender financing, USDA and SBA lending, and small business and equipment financing to foster economic development and entrepreneurial growth at a local level in communities across the country. As a national leader and go-to bank for nonprofits, Stearns Bank created a customized suite of Nonprofit Banking Solutions specially designed and tailored to empower nonprofit organizations across the country. Driven by a passion to help others achieve their greatest ambitions, Stearns Bank’s mission is to Get the Job Done! For more information, visit StearnsBank.com.

About American Banker

American Banker empowers banking professionals with unique analysis and insight into the ideas transforming their business and industry. Across its journalism, events, research and benchmarking, it helps drive the way forward through the complexity of business innovation, retail and commercial disruption, technology, regulation and reform. With a banking community 850M strong, American Banker’s content connects leaders online, in person and in print every day.

About Best Companies Group

Since 2004, Best Companies Group has specialized in identifying and recognizing great employers to work for. We are an independent research firm that ranks companies based on our established research methodology. Our surveys provide actionable, hard-to-obtain data that companies use to improve employee recruitment and retention.