Hills Bancorporation operates as the bank holding company for Hills Bank and Trust Company (the bank) that engages in the commercial banking business.
The bank is a full-service commercial bank extending its services to individuals, businesses, governmental units and institutional customers. The bank is actively engaged in all areas of commercial banking, including acceptance of demand, savings and time deposits; making commercial, real estate, agricultural and consumer loans; maintaining night...
Hills Bancorporation operates as the bank holding company for Hills Bank and Trust Company (the bank) that engages in the commercial banking business.
The bank is a full-service commercial bank extending its services to individuals, businesses, governmental units and institutional customers. The bank is actively engaged in all areas of commercial banking, including acceptance of demand, savings and time deposits; making commercial, real estate, agricultural and consumer loans; maintaining night and safe deposit facilities; and performing collection, exchange and other banking services tailored for individual customers. The bank administers estates, personal trusts, and pension plans and provides farm management, investment advisory and custodial services for individuals, corporations and nonprofit organizations. In addition, the bank earns substantial fees from originating mortgages that are sold on the secondary residential real estate market without mortgage servicing rights being retained.
Lending Activities
Real Estate Loans
The bank's real estate loans include construction loans and mortgage loans.
Mortgage Loans: The bank offers residential, commercial and agricultural real estate loans. These loans include first and junior liens on 1 to 4 family residences. The bank originates 1 to 4 family mortgage loans to individuals and businesses within its trade area. The bank sells certain mortgage loans to third parties on the secondary market.
The bank originates loans for commercial properties to individuals and businesses within its trade area. The bank offers both fixed and variable rate loans for commercial real estate.
Multi-family real estate loans are made to individuals and businesses in the bank's trade area. These loans are primarily secured by properties such as apartment complexes.
Construction Loans: The bank offers loans both to individuals that are constructing personal residences and to real estate developers and building contractors for the acquisition of land for development and the construction of homes and commercial properties. The bank makes these loans to established borrowers in the bank's trade area.
Commercial and Financial Loans
The bank's commercial and financial loans include loans to contractors, retailers and other businesses. The bank provides a wide range of business loans, including lines of credit for working capital and operational purposes and term loans for the acquisition of equipment.
The bank's commercial and financial loans are primarily made based on the reported cash flow of the borrower and secondarily on the underlying collateral provided by the borrower.
Agricultural Loans
Agricultural loans include loans made to finance agricultural production and other loans to farmers and farming operations. Agricultural loans, most of which are secured by crops and machinery, are provided to finance capital improvement and farm operations as well as acquisitions of livestock and machinery. The ability of the borrower to repay may be affected by many factors outside of the borrower's control including adverse weather conditions, loss of livestock due to disease or other factors, declines in market prices for agricultural products and the impact of government regulations. The ultimate repayment of agricultural loans is dependent upon the profitable operation or management of the agricultural entity. Agricultural loans generally have a term of one year and may have a fixed or variable rate.
Consumer Lending
The bank offers consumer loans including personal loans and automobile loans. These consumer loans typically have shorter terms and lower balances.
Loans to State and Political Subdivisions
Loans to State and Political Subdivisions include only tax-exempt loans.
Deposit Activities
The bank's primary funding source for its loan portfolio and other investments consist of the acceptance of demand, savings and time deposits.
Market Area
Johnson County
The bank's trade area includes the Johnson County communities of Iowa City, Coralville, Hills and North Liberty, located near Interstate 80 and Interstate 380 in Eastern Iowa.
Linn County
The bank's trade area includes the Linn County, Iowa communities of Lisbon, Marion, Mount Vernon and Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Washington County
The bank's trade area includes the Washington County, Iowa communities of Kalona, Washington and Wellman, Iowa.
Investment Securities
As of December 31, 2023, the company's investment securities were U.S. treasury; other securities (Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB), FHLMC and FNMA); state and political subdivisions; and mortgage-backed securities and collateralized mortgage obligations.
Supervision and Regulation
As a bank holding company, the company is registered with, and is subject to regulation by, the Federal Reserve under the bank Holding Company Act, as amended (the 'BHCA').
The company's common stock is registered with the SEC under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the 'Exchange Act'). Consequently, the company is subject to the information, proxy solicitation, insider trading and other restrictions and requirements of the SEC under the Exchange Act.
The bank is an Iowa-chartered bank, the deposit accounts of which are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). As an Iowa-chartered, FDIC insured bank, the bank is subject to the examination, supervision, reporting and enforcement requirements of the Superintendent of Banking of the State of Iowa (the 'Superintendent'), as the chartering authority for Iowa banks, and the FDIC, as the bank's primary federal regulator.
The deposits of the bank are insured up to regulatory limits set by the FDIC, and, accordingly in 2023, were subject to deposit insurance assessments based on the Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act of 2005, as adopted and effective on April 21, 2006. The FDIC maintains the Deposit Insurance Fund ('DIF') by assessing depository institutions an insurance premium (assessment).
As such, the bank is subject to regulation, supervision and periodic examination by the Superintendent. The U.S. Treasury Department has issued a number of regulations that apply various requirements of the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 to financial institutions, such as the bank.
History
Hills Bancorporation was founded in 1904. The company was incorporated in 1982.