Lauritzen Corporation

Lauritzen Corporation is a financial and interstate bank holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Lauritzen Corporation currently has bank branches in Nebraska and Iowa, and has total assets of approximately $1.50 billion [FDIC Federal Register Citations http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/federal/04cSIFFORDcra0517.html] . In addition to banks, Lauritzen Corporation has five holding companies and 15 insurance or financial companies. Lauritzen Corporation has an approximately 28% voting share in First National of Nebraska, Inc. [Federal Register Online via GPO Access - See note C.2. - http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2003/03-17425.htm] . All told, it is one of the 50 largest banks in the United States ranked by total deposits [Source: FDIC (as published in The New York Job Source) http://nyjobsource.com/banks.html] , and is ranked among the top 200 United States banks by "The Banker" financial journal [The Banker http://www.thebanker-database.co.uk/ranking-results.asp?rid=4&year=2003&sortby=12#;return%20false] .

Lauritzen family

John Lauritzen

John Lauritzen was born on March 28, 1917, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He received his diploma from Blake County Day School in Hopkins, Minnesota, where he was captain of both the hockey and golf teams. After John graduated from high school in 1936, he attended Princeton University. He left the university after his sophomore year.

In 1949, after three years of correspondence courses and six weeks of classroom work on campus, he received his diploma from the University of Wisconsin's Graduate School of Banking.

Ten years earlier, he married T.L. Davis' daughter, Elizabeth Ann. T.L. Davis had a large part in the history of First National of Nebraska.

In 1943, he began working for the Davis family banks, first at the North Side Bank in Florence and later at the Washington County Bank in Blair. [ Szmrecsanyi, Dr. Stephen: "The First National Bank Story", page 49. First National Bank of Omaha, 1996 ]

Bruce Lauritzen

Bruce Lauritzen was born on June 21, 1943. After his freshman year at Westside High School, he transferred to St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire. This was the same Episcopal College Preparatory Institute from which his grandfather, T.L. Davis, had graduated from 60 years earlier.

In 1965, Bruce received his bachelor of arts degree from Princeton University, and then his master's in business administration from the University of Virginia in 1967. He met his wife, Kimball Bowles during his junior year at Princeton, and they were married in November 1965.

Bruce seriously considered a job with the North Carolina National Bank in Charlotte. He and his father discussed his future career options, and John felt that it was the right time for Bruce to begin working at First National and that if he didn’t like it there, he could go somewhere else later.

Bruce began working at First National on August 14, 1967. He became president of Farmers Savings Bank in Shelby, Iowa at the age of 26. In 1971, he personally purchased Sibley State Bank and made himself president, and in the following year, he purchased Landmands National Bank and negotiated for the family the acquisition of Harlan County Bank and became president. At the age of 29, he was the president of four banks.

By this time, he had two daughters, Margaret and Blair. In 1976, his son, Clarkson, was born and Bruce also purchased the Crawford County Bank. [ Szmrecsanyi, Dr. Stephen: "The First National Bank Story", First National Bank of Omaha, 1996 ]

History

John Lauritzen decided to go into business for himself, and in 1947 while he was assistant cashier and months before he became an assistant vice president, he sold his house for $14,000, and the site of his future home for $3,000. He used this $17,000 and another $17,000 in borrowed money to purchase a bank in Emerson, Iowa. At the age of 28, he became the youngest bank president in the country.

Five years later, he purchased the First State Bank of Loomis, Nebraska. At the time, he could only afford to purchase 51 percent of the shares. The current owners of the bank told Lauritzen that he would need to buy 100 percent or nothing at all. He then purchased the bank and then quickly re-sold the remaining 49 percent. [Szmrecsanyi, Dr. Stephen: "The First National Bank Story", page 49. First National Bank of Omaha, 1996 ]

After the death of T.L. Davis' in 1955, Lauritzen acquired control of the Washington County Bank, in 1956, the Farmers and Merchants Bank in Bloomfield (1958) and the Burt County State Bank in Tekamah (1961). In 1958, he formed what could be called the forerunner of today's Lauritzen Corporation to oversee his rapidly expanding holdings. Lauritzen then abruptly resigned from the First National to devote all of his energies to his growing chain of small banks. [ Szmrecsanyi, Dr. Stephen: "The First National Bank Story", page 52. First National Bank of Omaha, 1996 ]

Lauritzen had been appointed to the board of directors in 1953 and promoted to senior vice president three years after that. Members of First National's management team refused to accept his resignation. Both sides agreed that Lauritzen would work for First National half time, at half pay, and half time for his own string of banks. [ Szmrecsany, Dr. Stephen: "The First National Bank Story", page 52. First National Bank of Omaha, 1996 ]

Ownership

Lauritzen Corporation is privately held primarily by the Lauritzen family, with Bruce R. Lauritzen exercising sole investment and voting power which he shares investment and voting power with his mother, Elizabeth D. Lauritzen [SEC – EDGAROnline - Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management - see also footnote 1 - http://sec.edgar-online.com/2002/04/30/0000912057-02-017442/Section10.asp] . Many members of the Lauritzen family are associated with the individual companies within the Lauritzen Corporation.

Bruce R. Lauritzen is Chief Executive Officer of Lauritzen Corporation, as well as Chairman of First National of Nebraska, Inc., First National Bank of Omaha, and more than a dozen other banks and bank holding companies operating in Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, South Dakota, Kansas, Colorado, and Texas. His combined organizations have more than $20 billion in assets and 7,500 employees in 31 states [(nd) [http://www.firstnational.com/001/html/en/about_us/about_us.html About Us, First National Bank Omaha] . Retrieved 6/7/2008.] .

Banking subsidiaries

Crawford County Bank

:A subsidiary of The Viking Corporation [http://www.crawfordcountybank.com/ Website] :Branch in Iowa: DenisonCrawford County Bank started operations in 1927, and has maintained the same name since they opened their doors. [About Us, Crawford County Bank http://www.crawfordcountybank.com/045/html/en/about_us.html Retrieved 2/9/08.]

Farmers & Merchants State Bank

[http://www.fandmstatebank.com/ Website] :Branches in Nebraska: Bloomfield, Crofton, Center, Hartington, Niobrara, and South YanktonFarmers and Merchants State Bank was chartered in 1890. As they have grown over the years, they have taken pride in being a family owned and orientated bank. [About Us, Farmers and Merchants State Bank http://www.fandmstatebank.com/036/html/en/about_us.html Retrieved 2/9/08.] .

First State Bank

:A subsidiary of the Loomis Company, Inc. [http://www.fsbloomis.com/ Website] :Branches in Nebraska: Loomis and AlmaFirst State Bank opened their doors for business in 1886. Their first office was located in a hardware store office. In 1938, First State Bank's assets were the largest of any town in Nebraska with a population of 1,000 or less. The Lauritzen family purchased First State Bank in 1952. First State Bank added a branch in Alma by purchasing the Harlan County Bank in 2006. [About Us, First State Bank http://www.fsbloomis.com/067/html/en/aboutus/ Retrieved 2/9/08.]

Houghton State Bank

[http://www.houghtonstatebank.com/ Website] :Branches in Iowa: Red Oak, Cumerland, Elliott and Emerson

Landmands National Bank

:A subsidiary of Viking Corporation [http://www.landmands.com/ Website] :Branches in Iowa: Audubon and KimballtonLandmands National Bank has a mission "to be the premier financial institution in its trade area, committed to long-term growth and profitability, while taking the lead in the area's economic vitality." [About Us, Landmands National Bank http://www.landmands.com/014/html/en/about_us/about_us.html Retrieved 2/9/08.]

Shelby County State Bank

[http://www.scsbnet.com/ Website] :Branches in Iowa: Harlan, Elk Horn, Panama, Portsmouth, Irwin and ShelbyShelby County State Bank has been serving the financial needs of Shelby County since 1894. [Shelby County State Bank - Banking For Your Life! http://www.scsbnet.com/about_shelby_county_state_bank/about_shelby_county_state_bank.html Retrieved 2/9/08.]

Sibley State Bank

:A subsidiary of KBJ Enterprises, Inc. [http://www.sibleystatebank.com/ Website] :Branch in Iowa: Sibley

Washington County Bank

[http://www.washingtoncountybank.com/ Website] :Branches in Nebraska: Blair, Omaha, and TekamahWashington County Bank first opened for business on April 5, 1904, in the town of Washington, Nebraska as Washington State Bank. The bank merged with the Kennard State Bank of Kennard in May 1930. On July 1, 2933, Kennard State Bank moved to Blair and opened as Washington County Bank. John R. Lauritzen acquired control of Washington County Bank in 1955, three years before forming the Lauritzen Corporation. In 2004, the bank completed a merger with their sister bank, Burt County State Bank, in Tekamah. [Washington County Bank History, Washington County Bank http://www.washingtoncountybank.com/022/html/en/community/bankhistory.html Retrieved 2/9/08. ] In 2007, Washington County Bank opened their third branch in Omaha.

York State Bank

[http://www.yorkstatebank.com/ Website] :Branches in Nebraska: York, Geneva, and GreshamDean Sack obtained a charter for a new bank in 1943, and opened their doors on July 13. Just after the opening of York State Bank, Sack charted the Henderson State Bank in October 1944, and another bank in Benedict, Nebraska the same year. York State Bank was sold to the Lauritzen Corporation in 1995, and continues to support the education, industrial and agricultural aspects of York County today.

Non-banking subsidiaries

* [http://www.hakco.com/ The Harry A. Koch Company]
* [http://www.naedafinancial.com/ NAEDA Financial, LTD.]
**"Partnered with:" [http://www.dfsirg.com/ Diversified Financial Services, LLC]

ee also

*First National of Nebraska, Inc. -- Bruce Lauritzen's secondary ownership
*Lauritzen Gardens, Omaha's Botanical Center, made possible through the philanthropy of the Lauritzen family.

External links

* [http://www.fnni.com/ First National of Nebraska]

References