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50 Years of Five Points Bank

50 Days of Giveaways!

Five Points Bank Ready to Celebrate 50th Anniversary Year

Five Points Bank's Economic Impact

Study shows Five Points Bank’s impact on community nearing $100 million annually

In fifty years, Five Points Bank has clearly made an economic impact on the Grand Island area and throughout the state of Nebraska.

Sharon Marshall, wife of the bank’s late co-founder, Bill Marshall III, has seen this first-hand for 50 years.

“Since its inception, Five Points Bank’s steadfast dedication and commitment to the communities it serves has been the foundation of its business model,” she said. “Through boards, charitable giving, loans, mutual business relationships and employment, Five Points Bank has been a major driver of economic development.”

Given the numerous named buildings, fields, and financed projects, the above statement might be obvious to the most casual observer in Central Nebraska. However, putting a number to it, that’s another story.

How about $91.9 million? That’s how much Five Points contributed to the Grand Island area economy in 2020 alone.

It’s just one statistic from “Five Points Bank’s Economic Impacts: A Half Century of Serving the Greater Grand Island Community.” The study was recently completed by Dr. Ernie Goss, professor of economics at Creighton University.

“That number was staggering,” Tom Kelley, Five Points Chairman and CEO, said when asked if any of the study’s results surprised him.

Annual statewide impact nears $170 million

The study also found the bank’s operations contributed $168.5 million to the Nebraska economy last year.

Kelley said Five Points team members knew the bank had a substantial impact on the community and state but did not know precisely how much.

“We thought we’d commission an expert who could help us quantify that impact on our 50th anniversary,” he said.

Bank supports hundreds of jobs statewide

Five Points Bank employs 98 people in the Grand Island MSA — which includes Hall, Hamilton, Howard and Merrick counties — and 160 people overall.

“In addition to the dollars placed into the local economy via the bank’s financing of businesses, mortgages and consumer loans, the number of people we employ and the wages that circulate through the community are also one of the most significant measures of the bank’s economic impact,” said Tim Wojcik, President of Five Points Bank.

But Goss’ study found the bank actually supports 302 jobs in the Grand Island area when including “spillover impacts,” such as other vendors who do business with Five Points. In 2020, those jobs generated $17.7 million in wages and salaries.

The average yearly pay of $58,485 was 21% above the average pay for the state.

Five Points supported 571 jobs statewide last year, generating $38.3 million in wages and salaries.

“Five Points Bank has been and will continue to be a stabilizing impact on the local economy with the number of jobs provided likely to remain stable or increase,” the report says.

‘Brain gain’ benefits community, state

For his part, Goss pointed to “brain gain” — the attraction and retention of well-educated employees and workers — as the most significant indicator of Five Points’ economic impact. In 2020, the bank contributed:

  • $46.2 million in brain gain to Grand Island.
  • $93.9 million in brain gain to Nebraska.

As a rising tide lifts all boats, brain gain also benefits others in the community who may not have a college degree, for instance.

“Even bank workers at the lower end of the educational spectrum earn more than they would when compared to other industries requiring only a high school diploma,” the report notes.

Employees give time to nonprofits and community projects

Kristen Maser and Kara Kelley, both bank holding company directors and granddaughters of the late founder William W. Marshall Jr., alluded to their grandfather’s saying, “You have to pay rent for the space you take in the world” — meaning a business has a duty to contribute to and champion the advancement of the community it calls home.

Five Points Bank team members have lived out their founder’s mantra through their participation on numerous local boards and involvement with various community causes. The report shows Five Points Bank employees volunteered with 37 local organizations in 2020, with twenty-one bank employees serving as board members — including two as board presidents.

Goss stated, “I don’t think they get enough recognition for their service to the community,” he said. “The overall impact is quite significant.”

Through its financial support, Five Points Bank has supported numerous community projects such as the development of College Park, the Heartland Events Center, the Grand Island Public Schools Memorial Stadium Project, the Grand Island Central Catholic Gym Project, the Stuhr Museum Gem of the Prairie Campaign and the Nebraska State Fair. Five Points Bank also made a substantial investment in the beautification of the Grand Island with the creation of its greenspace at the corner of its business campus on Stolley Park Road.

“Five Points Bank will use the study to communicate to its team and its customers the impact the bank has had on the Central Nebraska area and how committed our institution is to our local community,” Tom Kelley said.

As the results of the study suggest, Five Points Bank has had a tremendous economic impact to Grand Island and the Central Nebraska area over the last 50 years.

“Banks are essential for local economies,” Goss said. “In addition to the salaries and taxes they pay, they draw new businesses and individuals to the community and provide necessary capital to start businesses or expand them.”

Read the full report here:

Five Points Bank's Economic Impact

 

 

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