For bank chairman, president and American Bankers Association chairman elect Matt Williams that means offering all the products and services a customer could want or need and backing it with unparalleled customer service.

For more than 20 years, Gothenburg State Bank has offered the leading banking solutions to its community of more than 3,700 with the help of Computer Services, Inc. (CSI), a provider of full-service bank technology and core processing solutions for the financial industry.

"The executive team at Gothenburg State Bank made a decision decades ago that no customer should ever take a back seat in products, services, or customer support just because they bank with a community financial institution," said Williams. "We could not fulfill that promise without a partner like CSI that has helped us and our customers. Through CSI's service bureau offering, our bank stays on the leading edge of online and mobile banking, for example, which is why we have extended our relationship another 10 years."

Gothenburg State Bank's 10-year extension with CSI for service bureau also includes the addition of check imaging solutions provided by Summit Financial Solutions, a CSI company and developer and provider of payment processing software and services, because bank executives wanted a check imaging solution that is more tightly integrated with its core platform. Gothenburg State Bank will utilize a comprehensive suite of Summit solutions, including branch capture, image archive, bank-wide research and customer access to check images through its Internet banking site.

"In the past, we have worked with multiple vendors to utilize technology within the bank and offer different products and services to our customers," continued Williams, "but we found that led to delays in resolving outstanding issues and intense vendor management. Our relationship with CSI allows us to streamline our vendor management efforts and enhance our product offerings through solutions that are fully integrated."

"We look forward to the opportunity as well as the challenge of working with a forward-thinking community bank like Gothenburg State Bank," said Steve Powless, chief executive officer of CSI. "The bank is eager to learn about our newest products and services, utilize as many of them as possible and fully leverage our technical and service support teams."

Since Gothenburg State Bank has worked with CSI, the community financial institution has seen both long-term bank growth and high levels of customer retention due to meeting customer demands and impeccable customer service. All of these achievements lead bank executives to report a high return on investment.