BROKEN BOW – Nebraska State Bank & Trust Company (NSB), Broken Bow Public Schools, and North Park Elementary have joined together to open the Indians Savings Bank, an official branch of Nebraska State Bank & Trust Company for Broken Bow students in Kindergarten through 5th grades.
The Indians Savings Bank is being opened through an initiative by the Nebraska Council on Economic Education. The goal of the program is to provide elementary students the opportunities to not only learn about savings and how financial institutions operate, but to also become savers themselves.
The Indians Savings Bank will only be present at the North Park Elementary School in Broken Bow. Other in-school branches have been established in Nebraska, but the Indians Savings Bank will be the first of its kind in Custer County and the surrounding area.
The first official day of business will be January 11, 2023, with the branch open every Wednesday morning after that for students to make deposits into their own savings accounts. On their very first deposit, no matter when that first deposit occurs, NSB will also deposit $5.00 in that student’s account.
NSB President and CEO Stuart Fox stated, “This new school branch fits with NSB’s philosophy of educating children on the importance of saving so they are better prepared to handle their finances in the future. The North Park students will be able to open a savings account with parental permission and start saving towards short- and long-term goals they have. We are building a community of savvy savers.”
The in-school bank will be run by student tellers, under the supervision of NSB staff. The 16 student tellers are all 5th graders, who had to submit an employment application and go through an interview prior to being offered the job. The student tellers will be trained at the school and the Bank prior to the first day of business.
Withdrawals from students’ accounts will not be allowed until the child graduates 5th grade or leaves the school. In lieu of interest, students receive incentives provided by NSB when they deposit into their savings accounts.
The Indians Savings Bank is a pilot program for future NSB operations; once it has been successfully implemented, NSB has plans to open additional in-school branches in communities across Custer County.
