Jim Plagge, a native of Latimer, Iowa, started his banking career in Austin, Minnesota, as an ag loan officer for three years. Later he worked at Northwestern Bank in Orange City and Sheldon, Iowa for 26 years. He started there as an ag loan officer, and for the last 20 years served as president. Northwestern Bank is a community bank with approximately $200 million in total assets.
In 2012, Plagge joined Bank Iowa as president and CEO. Bank Iowa is a $1.3 billion family-owned bank headquartered in West Des Moines, with three offices in the Des Moines metro and 22 offices in rural communities throughout the state. It is the second largest ag lender among Iowa chartered banks. Under his leadership, deposits exceeded $1 billion for the first time in bank history.
“We’re looking to grow the bank in all of our regions. Because we have a presence out in the state, there’s opportunity in those (rural) markets as well. We see our future there handling some of the larger operations. That will be primarily in agriculture, but commercial as well. It’s going to be capturing a bigger share of the market in those areas because the market itself isn’t growing.”
“In the metro area, it’s going to continue to grow, and any time you have growth in an environment, that creates opportunities for banks. As there continues to be consolidation, the borrowing needs are going to get larger, and that’s going to take a larger institution to meet those needs. Growth through acquisition would be another opportunity. But mostly growth by capturing market share, because smaller banks aren’t going to be able to meet that need.”
The 2018 Des Moines Business Record’s “Best of Des Moines” list named Plagge “Best CEO Runner-up.” The awards competition is based entirely on community votes. But Plagge has stressed the value of each team member across all 22 communities the bank serves. “It’s not the bank president our customers count on each and every day,” said Plagge. “It’s the tellers, loan officers and local leadership, among many others, who make a real impact in the lives and businesses of our customers and business partners.”
Community health is a high priority for Plagge. Under his leadership, Bank Iowa employees logged nearly 9,000 community service hours in 2017, the equivalent of almost five full-time bankers. The bank also donated more than $400,000 to charities, people and organizations across Iowa.
Plagge is personally active in community organizations as well. He currently serves on the board of Des Moines Christian School, where he also serves as treasurer and finance committee chair. In addition, he has been involved in numerous charities, associations and civic groups, including the local hospital and economic development foundations.