United Valley Bank Hires Fargo Bankers, Blake Trenbeath And Kelli Simonson, To Bring Fresh Banking Products And Energy To The Fargo Area

United Valley Bank has put plans in motion to open its first branch in Fargo, North Dakota, in the fall of 2025. Temporarily, United Valley Bank will operate as a loan and deposit production office at 4809 38th Street South. On October 24, 2024, ground was broken on the branch’s permanent home, which will be located at 3300 Jacks Way on the east side of I-29 and 52nd Avenue.

As part of its move into the Fargo market, United Valley Bank has added Blake Trenbeath as market president of commercial lending and Kelli Simonson as vice-president of finance. Together, they will serve as the management team for the Fargo market.

Trenbeath has more than 20 years of banking experience. Most recently, he served as chief lending officer for a growing Fargo bank. He is a native of Cavalier, North Dakota, a graduate of Concordia College, with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management, and a graduate of the University of Colorado Graduate School of Banking.

Simonson also has more than 20 years of banking experience, with past roles as an associate national bank examiner for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and most recently, as the chief financial officer at a Fargo-area bank. A native of Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, Simonson is a graduate of Minnesota State University Moorhead, with a Bachelor of Science in Finance, and she holds a Graduate Certificate in Business Law from the USC Gould School of Law.

“United Valley Bank has a lot to offer the folks who live in Fargo and the surrounding area,” says Barry Hanson, CEO and president of United Valley Bank, “and we have two outstanding new team members to lead the way. Our roots are in small-town banking, where we treat our customers with the high level of personal service they deserve. Blake and Kelli know how to provide that personal service while still giving customers the products and services they’ve come to expect from an innovative bank.”

United Valley Bank manages over $650 million in assets and has locations in Cavalier and Grand Forks, North Dakota, as well as in Argyle, Crookston, Hallock, Lancaster, Mahnomen and Twin Valley, Minnesota. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender.