American Indian bank rates as CRA star.

Big banks all around the country have been phoning Jack Kelly, president and chief executive officer of Blackfeet National Bank in Browning, Mont., to ask him his secret.

His $12 million-asset bank received an "outstanding" Community Reinvestment Act rating after its first CRA exam this fall.

Mr. Kelly says there is no secret. In fact, he says, "it would be surprising if we didn't have an |outstanding' rating."

The bank, on an Indian reservation, is owned by the Blackfoot tribe. Ninety percent of the town of Browning is American Indian.

Minority lending, therefore, is not a problem.

If anything, says Mr. Kelly, the bank must guard against reverse discrimination. Only one member on his 16-person staff has no Indian blood.

Mr. Kelly has some, but not enough to be considered a Native American.

Small Group

Blackfeet is one of only four Indian-owned banks in the country.

The other three are Lumbee National Bank in Pembroke, N.C., which is owned by the Lumbee tribe; First State Bank in Hulbert, Okla., owned by the Cherokees; and First Oklahoma Bank, Shawnee, Okla., owned by the Pottawatomie tribe.

Lumbee and First Oklohma rate "satisfactory" on CRA compliance. First State won has an "outstanding."

Mr. Kelly says that the bank is strict with its loans, but that its employees are always willing to work with people who have credit problems. He says that a large portion of his loans are under $500, and a larger portion are under $1,000.

The bank opened in July, 1987 and wasn't examined for CRA compliance until this year. Mr. Kelly hired Harold "Bud" Uecker, a former banker from Whitefish, Mont., to perform an internal audit.

The biggest challenge in preparing for the exam, Mr. Kelly says, was making sure the bank had documented everything and maintained its files.

5,000-Person Market

Browning has a population of 1,000 people, but the bank serves a larger area of 5,000 people.

The area is mostly agricultural. The largest employers are a hospital, a large school system, and a Bureau of Indian Affairs office.

Mr. Kelly, who is a former examiner for the San Francisco office of the Comptroller of the Currency, doubled as the bank's compliance officer for the past few years, but recently appointed two loan officers to take over those duties.

He says the bank's overhead is high because of compliance costs, but he also said its profit is higher because of its dedication to the community.

As for the rating, Mr. Kelly says it just goes to show that a minority-owned bank is "capable of doing what everyone else is."

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