On a quiet morning fishing Oregon’s high lakes or along the Columbia River, success often comes down to patience, preparation, and understanding the conditions around you. Those same qualities have guided Jim Schlotfeldt throughout his career in community banking. As an avid fisherman and CEO of First Federal Savings and Loan, Jim leads an institution that has earned recognition as one of the healthiest community banks in the country. By combining disciplined risk management with a deep commitment to local relationships, First Federal has served generations of businesses and families. In this Community Banking Champions profile, Jim shares how he found his way into community banking, what has kept the bank strong for more than a century, and why reliable international payments are increasingly important for the local manufacturers, wineries, and farmers his bank serves.
What drew me to community banking was the visible impact that banks have and the connection they build with their communities. You also have the flexibility to do the right thing through local decision-making.
I once read an article about employee engagement that said people thrive when three things come together: career, community, and cause.
Career means you’re learning and growing.
Community means you’re recognized for what you contribute.
Cause means you’re doing something meaningful.
When I read that, I realized that’s exactly what community banking provides. It connects those three things. Because we’re in touch with our communities.
I can walk out the front door and see the impact we’re having. People on the street thank us for helping them through tough times, like during the Great Recession, when we had to work through a lot of troubled debt. We helped people and businesses come out of it, and now they’re on the other side and are prospering again.
That’s what makes the work meaningful.
First Federal was founded in 1922, so we’ve been around for more than 100 years.
Over the years, we’ve been conservative lenders and focused on high asset quality and disciplined risk management. Also, our longstanding board built and preserved strong capital. Combine that with personalized service, and you build trust.
That trust matters most during volatile times. Customers stay with us, and we stand with them. A lot of people want to lend you money when things are going well. But when the economy turns, the question becomes: who’s got your back?
Community banks have structural advantages because we’ve spent decades building trust.
The challenge is attracting younger customers who grew up interacting with smartphones and apps. Sometimes they trust the advice from an app more than the banker sitting in front of them. That’s why we need to continue partnering with fintech providers and identifying solutions that help us stay relevant as customer expectations evolve.
Adapting to market demands is how community banks survive.
We generally work through our core provider to identify products that integrate well with our core system.
We’re not necessarily on the leading edge, experimenting with everything new. But we do try to be a fast follower and adopt solutions that are proven and can integrate safely into our environment.
The focus is on practical tools that customers actually use. That includes online banking, treasury management services, and systems that allow customers to originate their own transactions.
We’ve also added solutions to strengthen fraud prevention. For example, we recently deployed AI technology that analyzes customer checks and learns their normal patterns to detect anomalies.
It’s another layer of protection against fraud.
It’s an old strategy, but I still believe banks should grow deposits first.
People tend to focus on asset growth, but you want to grow deposits first, because deposit growth ensures liquidity. That liquidity allows you to lend, invest, and manage unexpected events. Beyond that, banks have to carefully evaluate the growing list of technology options and decide what’s truly necessary.
We can’t do everything. The real challenge is identifying what’s a must-have versus a nice-to-have for your bank and your customers.
International payment capabilities are extremely important to us. We see individuals making cross-border payments, but the real demand comes from local businesses. Manufacturers, wineries, and farmers in our region all buy and sell internationally. That means we need a reliable and secure way to handle cross-border payments.
When we evaluated providers, we wanted one that matched the level of personalized service we offer our customers. We had struggled with our previous solution for several years, and speed, customer service, and accuracy were all factors. Exchange rate transparency was also important.
Ultimately, we wanted a provider that delivered reliability and service that matched our expectations. That’s what led us to partner with Acceleron.
One of our biggest focuses over the past decade has been learning and development. We have a full-time corporate trainer and have built career paths across nearly all functional areas of the bank. Employees can see exactly what skills and competencies they need to progress.
There’s no mystery about how to advance. The goal is to develop internal talent and create opportunities for people who are willing to work for them.
Community banks need to protect their reputations while staying true to the community banking model. At the same time, we need to embrace technologies that improve customer experience and operational efficiency.
Historically, community banks were defined by geography. But technologies like remote deposit capture, online banking, and international wire services allow us to serve customers well beyond our physical footprint.
If we can expand while maintaining the feel of community banking, we’ll remain relevant.
Build your network. Don’t try to carry every challenge on your own. Build relationships with other bankers and solution providers who are willing to share ideas and experiences. Often, someone else has already solved the problem you’re facing.
You have to prepare for change rather than try to predict it.
Instead of betting on exactly where rates will go, we focus on maintaining liquidity and building a balance sheet that can adapt. If the economy slows, we shift resources toward credit monitoring and collections. If the economy strengthens, we focus on originating new loans. It’s about staying flexible and allocating resources to the highest priority at the time.
I’ll give you some lessons from my time spent outdoors, especially fishing. Central Oregon has incredible high lakes for trout and kokanee, and the Columbia River offers great opportunities for salmon and steelhead fishing.
Fishing teaches you a few lessons that apply to work too. You have to do your research, understand the conditions, and have a backup plan.
And it’s called fishing, not catching. Sometimes you have to change your strategy and keep trying.