2019 Commissioner Perspectives: Lise Kruse of North Dakota

Lise Kruse, commissioner of the North Dakota Department of Financial Institutions, discusses the importance of community banking in her state. Her department oversees 68 state-chartered banks with total assets of $26 billion, as well as the only state-owned bank in the nation, with assets of close to $7 billion. "I believe that a bank is vital to the local community. And our goal is essentially the same as a bank’s – to keep the bank healthy and strong so it can serve its customers," she said. "A healthy bank is so much better able to accommodate a fluctuating economy and therefore meet their customers’ needs.