Profile: Clint Karnes

Clint Karnes

Wood and Huston Bank

TITLE: Community bank president

AGE: 42

NATIVE OF: Omaha, Ill.

NUMBER OF BRANCHES IN SOUTHEAST MISSOURI: 2

NUMBER OF ATMs: 6

HOW HE GOT HIS START IN BANKING: My childhood babysitter ended up as the SVP of Operations at Boatmen's Bank in Benton, Ill. She knew that I had a background in the consumer finance business and called to let me know of a loan officer position that had opened up in Ziegler, Ill. Two mergers, one relocation, and two other banks later, I came to work for Wood & Huston in 2004.

WHAT'S SOMETHING YOU WISH YOU'D KNOWN WHEN YOU STARTED: That the banking business is 100 percent dependent on personal relationships and reputation. Meeting customer needs, regardless of product, pays off in the long run. Many bankers push particular products that are best for them, not for the customer. Quick-hit products pale in comparison to long-term relationships. Whether you live on Main Street or Wall Street, everyone is concerned about the same general things; making a living for their family, buying a house, putting their kids through college, retirement, etc., regardless of their AGI.

WHAT'S THE FASTEST GROWING ASPECT OF YOUR BANK? While Wood & Huston was founded as a blue collar, middle class bank, our commercial loan and deposit business is the fastest growing component of our bank.