Aspire Bank

Welcome Lori DeKeyser

Lori DeKeyser has been in banking for over 30 years.  After graduating from Jamestown College, her first job was as a Bank Examiner with the FDIC.  Most of her career was spent at Union State Bank n/k/a Border Bank, where she was a commercial lender, but she also spent time in the areas of compliance, audit, and Asset Liability Management and also spent some time in indirect leasing with Community First Financial.

Lori is active in The Fargo Optimist Club, chairing the All-Star Volleyball Series for the last 18 years.  She also is a member of the Fargodome Finance Committee and Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church finance committee.

Lori is married to Shawn, who is a professor at NDSU. They have four children, Monica, Justin, Braden, and Desi and one grandchild, Kai. In her free time, she likes to read, scrapbooks and is looking forward to more traveling upon becoming an empty nester next fall.

Lori joins our Aspire Bank team as an Operations Manager & Business Banker. She will join us in serving our clients with top-notch service & care. We are happy to have her on our team!

Why Does FDIC Membership Matter?

Aspire Bank proudly places the Member FDIC logo on all our marketing efforts. This logo can be seen across our print ads, social media, and any other form of advertising that we do. What does this logo mean to you?

The FDIC’s mission is to promote confidence and stability in the nation’s financial statement. FDIC-insured banks are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government. This can give individuals & business owners full confidence in any FDIC-insured bank across the nation.

When you are looking for a bank for your business, make sure to find out of the bank is FDIC insured. This is an important protection for you as you begin your banking relationship. Since the founding of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in 1933, no depositor has lost a penny of FDIC-insured funds.

There is a ton of insightful information on the FDIC website regarding this protection for consumers. If you are looking to learn more about the Federal Deposit Insurance Cooperation visit their website at fdic.gov to access their resources.

Here is a video that was created by the FDIC that outlines more details on this bank insurance.

How a Good Credit Score Can Save You Money?

How a Good Credit Score Can Save You Money?

We live in an era where having the opportunity to borrow money for a mortgage, education, or other personal financial needs is pertinent. Therefore, having a good credit score and understanding how to manage your credit score is extremely important knowledge to hold. First thing’s first, we need to understand what the difference between a credit score and a credit report is.

A credit report is a bundle of information on your past financial history. This may include your credit history, personal information, your financial accounts, and if you had previously filed for bankruptcy. A credit score is a FICO (Fair Isaac Co.) number which provides lenders information on how risky of a borrower you are. There is a number range for FICO credit scores which starts at 300 and ends at 850. The higher your FICO credit score number, the better borrower you are considered.

Having a good credit score and understanding how to manage your credit score is extremely important knowledge to hold.

When you as the borrower wants to apply for a car loan, student loan, home loan, or credit card the lender can look at your credit report and FICO credit score to determine what you will receive from them. Your credit report and FICO credit score will be used for the lender to determine how much money they will lend you and at what interest rate. The riskier the borrower seems, the amount of money lent to them will be smaller and their interest rate will be higher.

After understanding what goes into your credit history it is important to understand how having good credit can save you a lot of money. The higher your FICO credit score number the less “risky” you are considered as a borrower, therefore your interest rate lowers on your loan. The following illustration is an example of how a higher credit score can save you thousands of dollars:

FICO Credit Score

Toby Kommer Discussed One-Stop Shop With Fargo INC! Magazine

Toby Kommer Discussed One-Stop Shop With Fargo INC! Magazine

Story & photos courtesy of Fargo INC! Magazine

After more than 20 years working for financial services companies, in 2014, Toby Kommer left his executive position with a local bank in search of something different.

The venture Kommer settled on was a kind of one-stop-shop for small- to mid-size businesses—a physical space that an owner could come to and have almost any conceivable resource at their fingertips. Earlier this summer, the idea came to fruition, as he and his team of more than 50 cut the ribbon on a new 16,000 square-foot building at the corner of 52nd Avenue and 45th Street in one of the fastest-growing parts of Fargo.

Toby On Fargo INC!

The property houses not just Haga Kommer, the CPA firm that bears his name, it’s also home to a full-service bank, Aspire Bank; an insurance agency, Far North Insurance; and an investment firm, Red River Financial.

While Kommer concedes the one-stop-shop concept is not a new one, he says he believes their unique approach and drawing from different sources of inspiration will allow them to stand out in the financial services crowd. Here are five ways they’re doing it.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE ON FARGOINC.COM

Aspire Financial Breaks Ground On New Fargo Building

Aspire Financial Breaks Ground On New Fargo Building

Photos courtesy of Michael Vosburg / Forum Photo Editor

FARGO, N.Dak. — In 2014, Aspire Bank Owner Toby Kommer—after more than 20 years working for financial services companies—thought of an idea to create a one-stop shop where owners of a small- to mid-size business could have their entire financial team in one building. Wanting to turn this idea into reality, Kommer bought certified public accountant firm Haga & Associates and rebranded it to Haga Kommer Ltd.

Aspire Financial is under construction at 5195 45th St. S., Fargo.

The idea then came to fruitionearlier in this summer. On Jan. 1, 2017, Haga Kommer Ltd. officially rebranded as Aspire Financial and constructed a new building, located at 5195 45th St. S., Fargo, later that same year.

Today, the bank offers a suite of accounting, insurance, investment and other financial services all under one roof.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE ON INFORUM.COM