A Fargo bank grows around its owners and employees
Bell Bank began as State Bank of Fargo in 1966, opening in a north Fargo shopping center. Richard Solberg became president in 1982 and helped guide its expansion. The bank’s current ownership account identifies the Solberg and Snortland families as major owners and describes an institution that has remained privately held. [3][4]
The FDIC identifies today’s Bell Bank as an active North Dakota state-chartered bank in Fargo, certificate 19581, established May 6, 1966. Its corporate story is therefore different from the older mortgage business whose name it later adopted. Neither an acquired business’s founding date nor a later rebranding resets the bank’s original institutional identity. [1][3]
A trust combination adds another line of business
In 2004, the Fargo, West Fargo and Moorhead banking operations combined with the newly acquired Northern Capital Trust to form State Bank & Trust, including a wealth-management division. The bank’s timeline describes expansion into Minnesota’s lakes region in the preceding years. Local banking and trust services were being joined before the Bell name arrived. [3]
The next important name came from Minneapolis. Bell Mortgage had been founded in 1880 by civic leader David C. Bell. It became part of State Bank & Trust in 2011; the bank rebranded as Bell State Bank & Trust in 2012 and simplified the name to Bell Bank in 2016. The 1880 date belongs to the mortgage predecessor, while the insured bank dates to 1966. [3][5]
Mortgages carry the business into more markets
Bell’s mortgage business provides home-purchase and refinancing loans and says it has used an in-house team to support the mortgage process through closing. Its history describes later mortgage expansion into Wisconsin and New Mexico in 2018, Florida, Tennessee and Missouri in 2019, and Kansas in 2020. Mortgage offices extend a bank’s reach differently from full-service deposit-taking branches. [3][5]
The bank’s timeline also records its first announced full-service Arizona location in 2018 and further plans in the Phoenix area and Minnesota in 2020. These are dated expansion milestones, not a current exhaustive branch count. In 2022 it opened a mortgage-servicing center in Owensboro, Kentucky, adding an operation focused on administering home loans after origination. [3]
The franchise broadens beyond deposits and home loans
Bell acquired the century-old insurance firm Warner & Company in 2019, bringing Bell Insurance into its services. Its equipment-finance business offers both loans and leases across a range of industries. Equipment financing addresses the cost of productive machinery and other business assets, a different customer need from buying a home or managing family investments. [3][6]
The bank’s history also links its ownership model to an employee stock ownership plan established by the Solberg and Snortland families in 2016. Michael Solberg became president in 2009 and chief executive in 2014; Richard Solberg remained chairman when the about page was reviewed. The bank presents this structure as supporting long-term decision-making, which is management’s explanation rather than proof that private ownership eliminates business risks. [3][4]
A larger headquarters keeps the bank rooted in Fargo
Bell bought a downtown Fargo tower in 2021 and subsequently rebuilt it as its headquarters. An August 1, 2024 announcement says the new Bell Tower opened in July and brought more than 300 additional employees downtown. The project connects the expanding institution to its original city rather than marking a relocation to one of its newer markets. [7]
The story is thus one of a bank adding businesses, locations and capabilities while keeping a Fargo base. It is also a reminder that a single familiar brand can contain banking, mortgage, insurance and wealth activities with different products and customer protections. This profile’s financial snapshot is limited to the insured bank and does not value customers’ managed investments. [1][3][4][5]
The insured bank at midyear
At June 30, 2026, the FDIC reported $15.183 billion of assets, $12.363 billion of deposits, $13.093 billion of net loans and leases, and $1.472 billion of equity for the insured bank. Net income was $68.821 million for the first six months of 2026. These bank-only figures are converted from thousands of dollars; income is year to date, not standalone second-quarter profit. [2]
Real-estate-secured loans were $10.178 billion, approximately 76.9% of gross loans and leases. The category combines different forms of property lending and is not all commercial real estate. The snapshot shows a lending-heavy institution, but it does not separately establish the earnings of its mortgage, equipment-finance or insurance activities. [2]
Sources
- FDIC institution directory, October 2, 2026 index; reviewed October 5Official sourceBack to text: ↑1↑2
- FDIC June 30, 2026 bank financials; dollar fields in thousands; income year to dateOfficial sourceBack to text: ↑1↑2
- Bell Bank historical timeline, undated; reviewed October 5, 2026SourceBack to text: ↑1↑2↑3↑4↑5↑6↑7↑8↑9
- Bell Bank ownership and leadership account, undated; reviewed October 5, 2026SourceBack to text: ↑1↑2↑3
- Bell Bank Mortgage history and operations, undated; reviewed October 5, 2026SourceBack to text: ↑1↑2↑3
- Bell Bank equipment-finance services, undated; reviewed October 5, 2026SourceBack to text: ↑
- Bell Bank headquarters-opening announcement, August 1, 2024; opening July 2024SourceBack to text: ↑