Ncontracts Congratulates David Hales, Chairman and CEO of Global Innovations Bank, For Being Named an Innovator of the Year Finalist by American Banker

Ncontracts congratulates David Hales, Chairman and CEO of Global Innovations Bank, for his selection as a finalist for American Banker’s Innovator of the Year.

The inaugural award honors people who are leading innovation across banking and financial technology, setting the course for the industry's future. The list of finalists includes 20 leaders from organizations that vary in size and business concentration.

Hales is being recognized for growing a community bank in Kiester, Minnesota by servicing fintech money service businesses (MSBs) that require extra risk management and compliance oversight that not all financial institutions are able to provide. Since purchasing Global Innovations Bank in 2018, Hales has grown assets from $18 million to $50 million.

“This year’s Innovators of the Year award is an effort to recognize the people who have the mentality and will to bring fresh ideas to life. We congratulate all our honorees for helping to push the industry forward,” said Penny Crosman, executive editor of technology at American Banker.

The bank has a fast-growing MSB program and is expanding to service other fintechs, but working with startups means that the risks presented and how to address them are always changing. The bank needed efficient ways to ensure that compliance programs are developed in lockstep with fintechs’ growth and that they meet the bank’s oversight and reporting requirements.

To support efforts, Global Innovations Bank partnered with Ncontracts for risk management and compliance oversight as its fintech business grows. From questionnaires to audit tools and risk assessment frameworks, Ncontracts helps ensure transparency and an open dialogue with the bank’s customers because the bank knows that they are focused on the right compliance obligations, at the right time, and up to the bank’s standards. This helps the bank better serve its customers by freeing up bandwidth and expertise, allowing its team to be more agile in how it manages client relationships.

“It is an incredible honor to be recognized as a finalist for this year’s Innovators of the Year award,” said Hales. “I had a vision to transform Global Innovations Bank and take it to the next level. Our partnership with Ncontracts was an important part of that, and I appreciate American Banker’s recognition of those efforts. I look forward to what we accomplish in the future and congratulate everyone named a finalist.”

Much of the bank’s growth is due to its service of fintech money service businesses (MSBs). The bank’s next goal is to onboard fintech clients to its carefully-built fintech program. With Ncontracts, Global Innovations Bank has been able to align its fintech banking program with the ever-changing regulatory environment. Additionally, the bank applies a traditional community banking model to serving MSBs and fintechs, while also serving its community with commercial and agricultural lending. With additional deposits from its fintech banking program, the bank plans to expand its loan offerings in Southern Minnesota and Northern Iowa.

“David’s innovative mindset has allowed the bank to grow substantially, and we’re proud to be a partner in that effort,” said Michael Berman, CEO of Ncontracts. “He is truly an Innovator of the Year, and we celebrate this recognition with him and his colleagues.”

Finalists will be recognized at American Banker’s Digital Banking Conference from June 12-14 in Boca Raton, Florida, as well as featured in the June issue of American Banker Magazine.

About Global Innovations Bank

Founded in 1899 (as First State Bank of Kiester) and headquartered in rural Minnesota, Global Innovations Bank has deep roots in providing the personalized attention exclusive to communities with a strong local bank. As banking services are evolving to become widely digitized, we too are evolving our product and service offering to meet the growing banking needs of consumers and businesses worldwide. Our commitment is to offer the robust technological capabilities of a global brand, while maintaining the friendly homegrown service offered by our highly skilled local staff. Visit www.gibank.com for more information.

About Ncontracts

Ncontracts provides integrated risk management and compliance software to a rapidly expanding customer base of over 4,000 financial institutions, mortgage companies, and fintechs in the United States. The company’s powerful combination of software and services enables financial institutions to achieve their risk management and compliance goals with an integrated, user-friendly cloud-based solution suite encompassing vendor, organizational, audit, and compliance risk management. The company was named to the Inc. 5000 fastest-growing private companies in America for the 4^th consecutive year. Visit www.ncontracts.com or follow the company on LinkedIn and Twitter for more information.

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