Community Advocate Spotlight: Laine Lazers, Farmers State Bank of Waupaca

The following is a brief interview between WBA President and CEO Rose Oswald Poels and Farmers State Bank of Waupaca President and CEO Laine Lazers.

Rose: How did you get started in banking?

Laine: It was really by chance that I became a banker. I had just graduated college in 1983 with a degree in accounting. I’m from Marshall, Wis. and one day shortly after graduation I received a call from our local banker, Melvin Martin, who was at the time the executive vice president at Farmers & Merchants State Bank of Waterloo & Marshall and a family friend. He knew I had graduated, and he asked me what my plans were and if I ever thought about working in a bank. I never gave banking much of a thought, but decided to interview for the position and was hired. Here I am 41 years later, still proud to be a community banker. Melvin was a wealth of knowledge when it came to business and banking. I was very fortunate to train with someone who was so willing to share that knowledge, which has helped me throughout my banking career.

What is your favorite aspect of your role at the bank?
I enjoy all the aspects of my job. I’m really fortunate to work in a community where you get to know so many of your customers, and I enjoy being able to sit down with them and hear their stories and find out what we can do to help them with their personal or business needs. I’m also very blessed to be part of such a talented and committed Board and staff that make our customers and communities we serve, their number one priority.

What do you wish the general public understood about the banking industry?
I wish the public understood that when the term ”bank” is used, we are not alike. The community bankers play such an important role in our markets. We take the time to listen to our customers, help them find solutions to their concerns and when loan decisions need to be made, they are made locally. I also don’t think the public understands how much the community banks financially contribute, large or small, to clubs, local events, charities, and sports teams in our communities. Our employees are also volunteering their time to support these events. In many cases, the credit unions and large banks only seem to focus on their larger markets when it comes to contributions.

Where do you believe the industry’s greatest challenges are in the next three to five years?
Keeping up with the ever-changing technology and the costs that are associated with new technology will be a challenge for community banks along with cybersecurity and making sure customer information remains safe in our institutions.

Being able to navigate through all the regulatory changes that continue in our industry and making sure we have compliance people on staff who can keep up with the changes is another challenge.

Finding, retaining, and developing staff who can step into leadership roles as baby boomers exit our industry via retirements will be key in keeping community banking alive and well into the future.

Please describe your current role at your bank and share with us one of your more rewarding experiences.
As CEO I have had several rewarding experiences during my career, but I would have to say that as difficult as it was during the first few months of COVID-19 in 2020, it was remarkable to see how our staff was able to handle the volume of PPP loans, stimulus checks, and mortgage loan refinances that all came at us at once. Everyone rose to this tremendous challenge, worked as a team, and did their part to make sure our customers were taken care of in a timely and efficient manner given the circumstances we were dealing with at the time with our lobbies closed and sometimes working with limited staff.