Office of Thrift Supervision

The OTS Midwest Region cuts a wide swath through the heartland of America, sweeping down from the Canadian border across the Great Plains and through Texas and Louisiana to the Gulf of Mexico. Although the region has some large cities and large thrift institutions, there are substantial numbers of small towns, farms and ranches — and the community banks that serve them.

More than half of the thrifts in the OTS Midwest Region are in towns with populations of less than 50,000, where bank managers have strong community ties and often greet their customers by name. It is a region defined by agriculture, reasonable housing costs, a good labor supply and a generally favorable tax environment. Thrifts tend to be smaller and spread over wide expanses, making the Midwest the OTS region with the least total thrift assets. The largest OTS-regulated institutions in the region are in cities such as San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, Wichita, Oklahoma City, Lincoln, Minneapolis and Des Moines.

The Midwest Region embodies a regulator that is firm, but also responsive and positive, handling problems without being confrontational. Although much of the region is marked by wide-open spaces, OTS regional officials strive to bridge the distances by participating regularly in outreach events with industry members and community groups. Their consistent presence at state bankers association meetings, gatherings with thrift executives and officers, and community affairs forums fosters good working relationships with the industry and helps agency officials identify and meet community needs.

The region is a leader within the OTS in spearheading the agency’s electronic examinations initiative to make paper copies relics of the past. Institutions have found that electronic exams are extremely beneficial by eliminating the need to copy boxes full of paper to respond to OTS requests for information. Instead, institutions now relay spreadsheets and word processing documents electronically, saving substantial time and money.

Electronic exams have proven so effective that OTS leaders have established agency-wide goals for adoption. Through electronic exams, the OTS’s heartland region has become an agency innovator.