BND was established in 1919 as a public-private partnership to support the development of private sector financial institutions and to promote agriculture, commerce, and industry in North Dakota. Its successes are unparalleled.
As the state’s bank, BND fulfills on its mission by first managing risk on behalf of the state and then investing back into the state. Risk to the state’s collected revenues and funds includes ensuring the state can meet short-term liquidity needs in the event of unforeseen events or disasters, managing the risk of significant changes in interest rate environments like the current rate environment we are in, or credit and repayment risk associated with the state’s investments into agriculture, commerce, and industry.
With appropriate and balanced risk management, BND then invests the state’s funds into North Dakota farms, ranches, businesses and individuals via partnering with the state’s community banks and credit unions. Additionally, BND manages and invests in programs as directed by the Legislature, such as the School Construction Revolving Loan Fund, the Infrastructure Revolving Loan Fund, Clean and Sustainable Energy, and many more.
Key stakeholders include state agencies, political subdivisions, legislative committees, economic developers, high schools, postsecondary education providers and financial institution. BND prides itself on keeping its ear to the ground, continuously assessing the landscape and asking questions to understand if there is a new need the Bank should address. Frequently, already established loan programs are flexible enough to address the issues. If not, BND rolls up its sleeves to create and implement the new program. Some of these require legislative approval while others do not.
BND 101 continued