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Community National Bank – Has Local Decision Makers Bringing Big Services like USDA and SBA to Help Local Communities
Dorsey Hall
President/CEO
Community National Bank
Interview conducted by:
Lynn Fosse, Senior Editor
CEOCFO Magazine
Published – September 29, 2025
CEOCFO: Mr. Hall, how long have you been with the bank and would you tell us about your role at Community National Bank and how it developed to where you are today as President and CEO?
Mr. Hall: I’ve been with the Bank since 2019. I was recruited by the Board to be the succession plan, and develop a future succession plan for all divisions as we continued to grow the bank.
CEOCFO: Community National Bank was founded in 1984. Would you give us a little background and history of the bank and how it developed from its founding?
Mr. Hall: The bank opened in 1984 by a very committed group of business men and successful farm operators to establish choices and create a professional competitive environment.
CEOCFO: Was the bank always a national bank? Would you tell us what it means to be a national bank and why the choice to be one?
Mr. Hall: Yes, the bank has always been a national bank. In my career, I have worked for national banks and state banks; I prefer the national bank because there is one regulatory agency, the OCC, which you primarily work with on examinations and guidance. The national bank charter itself gives a little more flexibility and offers the shareholders preemption over state laws.
CEOCFO: I understand maintaining its roots in the community with local people and local decisions is important to you and the bank. Why is that so important?
Mr. Hall: Our strategic statement is, “we serve”. We serve our faith, our family, our customers and shareholders. There isn’t anything more local than that.
CEOCFO: You are in Seneca, Sabetha, Topeka, Tonganoxie, Basehor and Overland Park; do they have a common need that you as a bank must meet?
Mr. Hall: The communities we serve all have one thing in common, local service. Every community wants access to local decision makers, and our goal is to have that element at each office and avoid “the main office” syndrome. Our management team snaps down onto the local office to give the same consistency in decisions, processes, etc. We attempt to give every customer the same experience in which we hope reflects an elevated service level.
CEOCFO: What are the revenue drivers for the bank?
Mr. Hall: With the traditional banking offices, we are balanced on segments and revenue drivers, which is a nice diverse portfolio of quality customers. The Custody Division gives our bank a unique support service and revenue stream which helps protect the banking offices against huge economic swings, or rate variances.
CEOCFO: Would you tell us about CNB Custody and why it is important for your customers?
Mr. Hall: CNB Custody is our IRA department that was expanded into a nationwide service shortly after the bank opened in 1984. The CFO and Board identified a need that allowed customers to take their IRA monies and invest in alternative assets versus certificates of deposits, or savings accounts, that could give them either better returns or a faster more solid appreciation in the asset.
Custody now serves 38,000 customer accounts across our great nation. The states with the largest account numbers are New York, California and Florida, and the others spread across other states. Custodians must perform accounting and reporting to the customers and the IRS. Being a National Bank, and federally regulated, is a huge benefit to our customers that participate. We are regularly examined by the OCC, and require internal and external audits regularly. This is very important with the number of transactions, ACH and wiring monies, etc. Many custodians are not regulated federally, and oversight is not present at the level we are required to conform.
I’m very proud of our Custody Department as it has surpassed $4.6 Billion dollars in custody assets and it continues to grow as customers identify the extreme importance of IRA asset IRS reporting and recordkeeping.
CEOCFO: You mentioned that the bank was opened by a group of farm operators. What is the most common type of businesses in your communities today; farms, retail shops, small businesses, manufacturing?
Mr. Hall: Initially, the bank was opened in the small community of Seneca, which were primarily small business owners and farm operators. However, today after 40+ years, we have expanded into multiple markets with more complex credit requests from larger businesses, the C&I (Commercial & Industrial) type products and services, and commercial real estate. Our portfolio is very diverse. We have not been traded in any one market or line of business. We practice not resisting any one line of business.
We like to develop borrower relationships. When a borrower comes to us and we have helped them in the past, we want to continue to help them. If they have an idea of a new business or a different business or some businesses even out of state, we listen to them and try to help them because we are looking for that relationship, not the line of business or industry they are in.
CEOCFO: What are some of the challenges these businesses face today and what is Community National Bank doing to help them meet those challenges?
Mr. Hall: Price and rate volatility is a big challenge for our clients, so we have developed partnerships with USDA, SBA, and others to give better rate and terms to our customers.
CEOCFO: How big a part is mortgage lending for you and is it in the commercial or consumer side of the business?
Mr. Hall: Mortgage lending is important to us for commercial real estate financing and owner occupied residential financing. A good portfolio mix on our balance sheet provides stability for our asset quality and revenue which provides capital back into the bank for protection to our depositors, and future growth.
CEOCFO: How many branches do you have and are you looking to grow that number in the near future?
Mr. Hall: We have 6 locations currently and will always continue to look for opportunities that make sense for our customer traffic patterns, and if we identify market locations we determine are underserved.
CEOCFO: When you add branches is it through acquisition, de novo or a mix?
Mr. Hall: We expand after we have identified the goal and purpose of the expansion. It could be by any of these.
CEOCFO: Has there been any significant changes to your team over the past few years?
Mr. Hall: We have grown in assets which has created needs for new and different positions in the technology area, in addition to a continuation of succession planning and building a great c-
CEOCFO: Do you offer the technology and FinTech products that millennials and gen Zers have become accustom to and are looking for?
Mr. Hall: Yes, we believe the investment in technology for the future is very important for the reasons of delivering services more efficiently to and for our customers, and also to provide the safety and security of their money.
CEOCFO: Do you have a marketing person or team? If so, what is their role? Is it community relations messaging, helping pitching your products and loan offering or a mix?
Mr. Hall: We do have a marketing team that works with each market to conform to their needs and their specific community needs. We try to keep it very local.
CEOCFO: What is your current funding position? Why should customers and potential customers have confidence in your future?
Mr. Hall: In recent years it is very evident that customers need to choose their banks with the confidence in the bank’s ongoing ability to be safe and secure. This is a basic function of remaining highly capitalized and liquid. We invest in local economies, not worldwide ventures where we can’t monitor nor control the aspects of unexpected challenges.
Our shareholders, board and management team has determined our intent to stay independent and serve our local customers, and forego aggressive growth models just to produce ever climbing earnings that can’t be sustained. We set safe and sound growth goals.
CEOCFO: You have many years of experience in banking. What have you learned that will help you continue to grow CNB and meet your sales objectives?
Mr. Hall: Know your customers. Remember they are why we are here, they aren’t numbers. You treat the customers the way you want to be treated and you don’t have to perform a lot of marketing.
CEOCFO: In closing, what sets Community National Bank apart from other local banks; is community involvement important for you?
Mr. Hall: I am proud to say that our team at CNB is proud of what they do; they care about the customers, and try to get an answer for every inquiry, and serve every request. I’m honored to be on their team. Having a team that acts as one, with the same vision is tough today with changing demands, culture, economics, etc. This is what makes our bank different. Money is the same color and form at every bank, the delivery makes the difference! That’s our Team!
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