Local bank makes good

COEUR d'ALENE - Idaho Independent Bank, of Coeur d'Alene, was named to a 2015 edition of the Top 200 Healthiest Banks in America.

The list was generated by bank account comparison website DepositAccounts.com. Idaho Independent was ranked 169th.

Kurt Gustavel, president of Idaho Independent, said Monday the bank is proud to receive the national recognition as one of the safest banks. He commended the bank's employees for their work.

"It's just a validation of our strategy," Gustavel said.

That strategy, he said, is operating with common sense and sound banking practices.

The bank stood out in the primary evaluation categories of deposit growth, capitalization and Texas Ratio. Texas Ratio is determined by comparing the total value of at-risk loans to the total value of funds the bank has on hand to cover the loans.

"In the past year, Idaho Independent Bank has increased its total deposits by $41.94 million, resulting in 10.77 percent growth for the year," DepositAccounts said in its evaluation.

As of June 30, the bank's total assets were $555.4 million, an increase of $68.8 million, or 14.1 percent, compared with a year earlier, according to the bank's second quarter and year-to-date results released on July 14.

Deposits and repurchase agreements increased $67.7 million, or 16.4 percent, to $480.8 million during the same timeframe.

Total loans increased $28.1 million, or 11.2 percent, to $278.2 million.

"The Texas Ratio for Idaho Independent Bank decreased dramatically from 8.85 percent as of March 31, 2014, to 2.89 percent as of March 31, 2015, resulting in a positive change of 67.4 percent," DepositAccounts said.

Idaho Independent was established in 1993 and currently has approximately 200 employees throughout the state.

It has branches in Coeur d'Alene, at 1260 W. Riverstone Drive, and in Hayden, at 8882 N. Government Way.

It also has branches in Meridian, Nampa, Mountain Home, Caldwell, Star, Sun Valley and three in Boise.