Who’s in charge of Native American Bank?

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By JODI RAVE / Lee Enterprises

MISSOULA, MONT. (LEE)—Who’s in charge of the bank?

Native American Bank board leaders have yet to announce why the national bank’s president was placed on administrative leave more than two weeks ago.

As of Thursday, J.D. Colbert had not been notified on whether he still has a job as bank president after being dismissed from his duties April 30.

Cristina Danforth, the bank’s holding company board president, said a statement intended to be released last Friday was “still in development.’’ As of Thursday, it still wasn’t complete.

Danforth has not returned phone calls.

Lynn Dee Rapp, an NAB depositor, questioned the management shakeup and, like many, still does not know what is happening in the bank.

“I’m waiting for the statement to decide whether or not to include them in our marketing endeavors,’’ said Rapp, president of WaSioux Inc., a gaming device development company in Buffalo Gap, S.D. “We don’t who’s running it. We have no idea. They are on hold until we have more information.’’

Meanwhile, Colbert’s photos and biographical information have been removed from the bank’s Web site at www.nabna.com.

Elouise Cobell, the operating board’s executive committee member, said last week the bank remains one of the most profitable in the country.

The NAB posted a net income of $1.4 million in 2007. The bank’s return on average assets, or profitability, was rated at 1.54 percent compared to bank peer group ratings of 0.94 percent, according to the company’s 2007 fourth-quarter report. The bank’s assets reached $99 million, a 20 percent increase compared to 2006.

Office of Comptroller of the Currency bank examiners arrived at the bank the week of April 14 for a scheduled audit. Colbert was placed on leave April 30.

Kevin Mukri, a spokesman for the OCC, has said if the bank audit warrants attention, it will be posted on the OCC Web site. The OCC had not posted any enforcement actions against the NAB as of Thursday.

Meanwhile, Colbert’s personal assistant, Holly Jamison, has been hired to work for the OCC, the federal agency that regulates 1,700 national banks.

“It is highly suspicious and indicates there may have been some type of plan to undermine J.D.,’’ said Rapp.

Don McLean, the NAB interim president, will not comment on changes within the bank.

The NAB, created in 2001, is owned by 26 federally recognized tribes and tribal organizations across the United States. The bank promotes economic development in Native communities, which have been historically underserved by mainstream banks. More than 85 percent of the bank’s loans are made to Native people, including commercial, home mortgages, real estate and consumer loans.

The bank has been a gathering point for a growing number of Native-owned businesses, said Rapp. She questions the actions of the NAB executive committee. Two of the three members oversee other banks: Lewis Anderson is president and CEO of Woodlands National Bank. And William Snider is vice chairman and CFO for United Western Bancorp, based in Denver.

Snider and Anderson are non-Native as is McLean, the interim president, and Tracie Davis, the former CFO who was brought back to the bank under a 90-day contract.

Rapp said her company doesn’t like to operate in the dark.

“As a depositor, it’s my inclination to take my money and move it to a more congenial place,’’ she said. ‘’I put it there because it was Native-owned. Unless there is Native management and unless there are some really justifiable reasons for what has happened, I’ll have to go on record for moving my money elsewhere.’’

Reach reporter Jodi Rave at 406-523-5299 or jodi.rave@lee.net.