Archive - August 2018

Every month, we will write a short profile highlighting the employees who make Peoples Bank an integral part of each community. Our employees take the initiative and truly make each branch feel warm and welcoming.  

Melany Jennings wasn’t born in Iowa, but she might as well have been.

Originally from west-central Minnesota, Jennings moved to Ogden when she was 4 years old. She’s lived there ever since, spare a few years when she lived in Spencer attending...

A student banking program in Iowa called the Giant Piggy Bank, sponsored by Peoples Bank, is teaching children how to manage money and the importance of saving.

The program allows students to deposit money into an account managed by student bankers, who are assisted by professionals and school staff.

“I’m a firm believer the road to becoming a financially responsible individual should begin at a young age,” said President and Chief Operations Officer John...

So you think you’re all set for your first day of classes. Backpack, books, IPad and smartphone in hand - you think you have everything you need for success this semester. However, learning proper cybersecurity habits are just as important to your college success as the friends you make or the assignments you accomplish.

You’re well acquainted with technology and internet scams, and think you are far off from being duped or scammed online. However, technology is ever changing...

Warm, sunny weather calls for a glass of ice cold lemonade. Now that the kids are out of school and looking for activities to entertain them, now is the perfect chance to teach them a little about finances. Here are a few quick tips to help teach your children how to be fiscally responsible.

Have them buy the materials.

When deciding to have a lemonade stand, it is important that your children know the value of money. By having them calculate the cost of the...

The trend in mortgage rates during the last year has been upward.

Since a low of 3.4 percent on an average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in late 2016, the United States has seen averages climb up to 4.6 percent as of early August. Economists expect that number to keep rising by the end of 2018 and eventually reach 5.5 percent or more, which will mark the highest rates since 2008.

We talked to Tracy Van Sickle, mortgage loan originator at our Ogden branch, about the trends and...

Getting a loan as a young person can be difficult.

Setting aside the issue of a short credit history, young people usually struggle to understand some of the loan basics, like what goes into a creditor’s decision or the difference between a secured and unsecured loan.

Creditors take many different factors into account when deciding on loan amounts, interest rates or whether to give money at all.

We talked to Melany Jennings, Vice President and Loan Officer at...

Here’s how chip cards are better and more secure

Chip-enabled cards have been the norm for a few years now. Banks, credit unions and credit card companies have been using them since at least 2016. But there are still some misunderstandings of how the chips actually work, and how they provide greater security benefits than a magnetic strip.

Here’s how each payment method works, and how chips are a far superior way to pay.

Chip-enabled...