First National Bank Midwest of Oskaloosa, Iowa, wanted to beat other banks to the punch and be the first to open a branch in a busy new shopping district in west Des Moines.
So it opened a temporary branch - in a double-wide trailer - on an empty lot at the main entrance of the Jordan Creek Town Center shopping mall while it and at least four other banks complete construction on permanent branches near the entrance.
The move has proved to be a smart one - the branch took in roughly $4 million of loans in May, well above the average for most branches' first month of operations, said Paul Swenson, First National's president.
"We got about a six-month head start on everyone because of our trailer," Mr. Swenson said. "The area is growing rapidly, and we wanted to be the first to serve the commercial customers as they build their businesses."
Trailer branches were popular during a bank start-up boom in Chicago in the 1990s, says Richard A. Soukup, a partner with the Chicago accounting and consulting firm Grant Thornton LLP. At a time when up to 20 new banks were being chartered each year, start-ups raced one another to be the first to open, and many used trailers to do so.
"But it's pretty atypical for an existing bank to do it," Mr. Soukup said. "This says something about how hot that market is - it's a good idea for them to get out there, and get a jump-start on everyone else."
Jordan Creek is in Dallas County, one of the fastest-growing counties in the United States, according to the U.S. Census. A number of insurance companies have their headquarters in Des Moines, and that has helped spur the growth of its suburbs. The Jordan Creek area has rapidly developing upper-middle-income residential properties, as well as new high-rise office projects.
Surrounding the mall will be a host of hotels, restaurants, smaller strip malls, and a large four-building office complex Wells Fargo & Co. is building to house operations for its home and consumer finance group, Mr. Swenson said. First National's trailer, and the permanent branch it is constructing right behind it, are in the center of all this activity.
This is the $102 million-asset First National's entry into Des Moines. Founded in 1937, it has stayed for nearly 70 years in two towns that have less than 10,000 people each, about 50 miles southeast of Des Moines. If things go well in the bigger city, First National will open more branches there - but most likely not with trailers, Mr. Swenson said.
