Real Advice, Virtual Source

New Bankers Trust Education Center offers financial expertise online.

Unless you’re a financial professional or independently wealthy, money matters are probably a little intimidating. Whether you’re single, have a family, work for someone else, or run your own business, it seems you always have more questions than answers.

To top it off, even if you have good questions and genuinely want advice, it’s hard to know where to find that information. Too often, those offering “advice” are just selling something, and you wonder if they are working in your best interest or theirs.

Bankers Trust has introduced a solution to that problem. And it’s available to anyone, not just the bank’s customers.

Introduced on April 4, the online Bankers Trust Education Center has two goals, according to Chief Marketing Officer Emily Abbas. “We want to help people better understand their finances, no matter what category that falls under—personal, small business, retirement, or more. And we want to help people become familiar with the level of expertise we have here at Bankers Trust.”

Information on the site is divided into six categories (see “Bankers Trust Education Center” below), and each piece of content is created by a Bankers Trust professional.

“The Education Center was created as a way for the experts at Bankers Trust to help people learn about the many aspects of money management in a way that’s easy to understand and apply, no matter your place in life,” the website states.

Abbas adds, “We have a diverse range of professional expertise at Bankers Trust, and the 18 team members chosen to advise on the Education Center represent that wealth of knowledge as well as our various business units and branch locations.”

Founded in 1917 in Des Moines, Bankers Trust has a history of forward-thinking customer service. The Bankers Trust Education Center continues that tradition. “This has been something for which we have seen a need and demand quite a while in response to our customers as well as our employees,” Abbas says.

The company chose a team of professionals representing the six financial categories it wanted to address; those team members began developing topic ideas for the site. “Our experts choose their topics based on the types of questions their clients are commonly asking. We also look at trends in the marketplace, as well as requests from customers,” Abbas explains.

The Education Center has already featured articles such as “How to Save More Each Month,” “How to Improve Your Credit Score,” “Nine Steps to Homeownership,” “How Much Should You Save for Retirement,” “How to Avoid Business Email Compromise,” and “Steps Toward Building a Business Team.”
Content includes everything from articles and infographics to short videos and can be searched by topic, expert, or key word.

Beginning this month, content will be updated weekly. Site visitors can also subscribe to the Education Center updates. Subscribers can opt to receive updates in every category or select only the categories that fit their needs.

“Many of our experts already offer other financial education opportunities in their area of expertise through one-day classes or seminars,” Abbas says. “This site allows them to extend that advice to a wider audience.”

For now, the Bankers Trust Education Center will remain an online resource, possibly introducing live feeds and new content formats as the site grows. But with the vast knowledge available through Bankers Trust professionals, there will be no shortage of content available.

The Categories

• Personal Finances
• Credit Management
• Home Ownership
• Retirement & Investment
• Security
• Small Business

The Experts

• Brock Biggerstaff, VP, Retail Product Mgr.
• Renee Nichols, Relationship Banker II
• Saundra Miller, VP Consumer Services Mgr. II
• Heather Bahe, VP, Consumer Lending Mgr.
• Alejandro Orozco, VP, Fair Banking Officer
• Chris Beener, Consumer Loan Deposit Originator
• Kim Downing-Manning, VP, Real Estate Mortgage Mgr.
• Tim Lamb, VP, Mortgage Loan Originator
• Laurie Segal, VP, Mortgage Loan Originator/Manager
• Jason Egge, VP, BTC Financial Services
• Susan Rathjen, VP, Private Banking Officer
• Ashlee Vieregger, Wealth Management Trust Officer
• Jodi Selby, VP, Financial Intelligence Dept.
• Clint Huffaker, Sr. Systems Security Engineer
• D’Angelo Johnson, Financial Intelligence Officer
• Travis Etchison, VP, Business Banking Mgr.
• Becky Fluegge, VP, SBA Lending Specialist
• Tony Braida, VP, Global Banking