A financial institution officially has moved its headquarters out of Dubuque, but company officials stressed that the change will have little effect on their local operations.
HTLF, formerly known as Heartland Financial USA, officially moved its corporate headquarters to Denver as of Jan. 1. However, officials speaking to the Telegraph Herald on Monday said HTLF’s operations in Dubuque largely will not be affected.
“It will literally just be a few people (moving to Denver),” Bruce Lee, HTLF president and CEO, said of the headquarters change following a quarterly conference call with investors. “I will be, in the long run, relocating to Denver, but the rest of the staffing, over 350 people in Dubuque, will stay there. The administrative offices are staying there. Our commitment to the Roshek Building remains. You will see very little impact on Dubuque and our employees.”
The move to Denver comes as HTLF continues to consolidate the company’s 11 bank charters into one based in Colorado, which Lee said is centrally located in the company’s footprint.
To date, five charter consolidations have been executed in Arizona, California, Illinois, Minnesota and Colorado. The remaining six charter consolidations are expected to be complete by the fourth quarter of 2023 and, upon completion, result in $20 million in savings on an annual basis.
“I feel like we’re on a good path with the charter consolidation,” said Bryan McKeag, HTLF executive vice president and chief financial officer. “From a growth perspective, it gives a lot of confidence. They say everybody feels good when you’re winning, and that’s what it feels like right now.”
In addition, the renovation of the Roshek Building — which has been renamed 700 Locust — is almost complete. HTLF and Cottingham & Butler purchased the building in late 2019.
Lee said most of the renovations and upgrades the companies have been making to the building are finished, and a shared rooftop space is expected to be available for employee use this spring.
“In our partnership with Cottingham & Butler, talking to them, their employees are loving it,” McKeag said. “I think we both are really pleased with the way it turned out.”
HTLF officials also shared financial figures for 2022 and the recent fourth quarter, which ended Dec. 31, in a conference call with investors Monday.
The company reported net income available to common shareholders of $204.1 million in 2022, down 4% from $211.9 million in 2021.
The company also reported net income available to common shareholders of $58.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2022. That represents a 23% increase compared to the same quarter in the previous year, when it was $47.6 million.
Total assets in 2022 grew to $20.2 billion by the end of the year, a 5% increase from the $19.3 billion recorded at the end of 2021.
Total deposits in 2022 increased to $17.5 billion, compared to $16.4 billion recorded at the end of 2021.
“Our strong momentum continues into 2023, and we are well-positioned to continue driving growth,” Lee said on the call.