FINLAY - NEW BRANCH MANAGER AND LOAN OFFICER FOR VALLEY STATE BANK

by Krista Norton | May 25, 2023

The Valley State Bank in Syracuse is pleased to announce Casey Finlay has been hired as the new branch manager and loan officer. His primary duties will be managing employees in the Syracuse office but more importantly, helping customers with their financial needs. 
Finlay is a 1994 graduate of Syracuse High School and a Fort Hays State University graduate in 1999 with an ag business degree. He returned home to work at Collingwood Grain as a manager trainee. “I had worked for them the summers in college, When I returned home, they hired me.” 
One year later, in May of 2000, Syracuse COOP asked him to take over their agronomy division. “After two years with the COOP, Roger Bergsma from the First National Bank called and offered me a job and that’s how I got into banking,” said Casey. 
For the past ten years he has been working at Frazee Abstract & Title, a company he and his wife Denise own,” he explained. “I am a title agent and have my abstractors license, and I did a large part of the traveling. The banking experience helped in the title office and having the experience in the title office will be beneficial in banking as well.” 
Banking was something he thought he might return to down the road. “I was not looking, but when the opportunity presented itself, I decided to take a look,” said Casey, “I like banking, working with customers and helping them with their financial needs, I missed that, getting them where they want to be financially.”  
Returning to the bank, he is certainly aware of how the bank has grown since the acquisition in Garden but, “Lending is lending, the parameters and what you look for and the ratios change a little bit, input costs change a lot, but the basic fundamentals of lending, banking and operating stay the same.
He has been pleased with how well the employees have welcomed him. “They have been great, and I am impressed with their customer service and how people are treated when they come in. We’ll do whatever we can to help the customers,” 
Casey wants customers to know they are proud they can provide more as a community bank versus bigger lenders, “Community banks offer all types of loans, home deposit and investment accounts and we can also provide flexibility and hometown decision making.” 
Reflecting, one change with banking is how in the 70s and 80s a note was one page, and now customers have to sign a lot more documents. “But that is the way it is with everything from banking to insurance, there is a lot more detail to everything today.” 
The VSB recently changed their hours to be more available to the customers, especially those who work until five. Their lobby is open 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday and the drive up is open 8:00 AM -5:30  PM, Monday through Friday and Saturday, 8:30 AM to noon. 
Casey and his wife Denise have four children, Emily and her fiancé Colby, Luke, Ashlyn, Liam, and recently added the title of grandparents to their resume, with the birth of a grandson, Easton. 
In closing Casey stresses his big reason for returning to banking is about how he can help the bank and the community. “How I can help keep community banks running strong, which in turn, benefits the community.”