Derek Simonsen

Business Banker

“I’ve always lived by the saying, ‘Be a good friend and a hard worker. Everything else will fall into place.’”

Derek compares working at First National Bank to being from a small town. “Everyone here is family-oriented, and I wanted to work for a company that had that feeling and those values. This place reminds me of my small-town roots; everyone knows your name and is always willing to help.”

It’s important to Derek to establish a trusting relationship and to extend the Bank’s values to his customers. He loves helping individuals and businesses with their financial goals and getting to know them and their families on a personal level. Plus, Derek’s been in the banking industry for more than a decade, and he can’t see himself doing anything else.

The music connoisseur enjoys going to concerts, playing golf and basketball, and hanging out with his wife, Megan, and his three kids, Palmer, Sawyer, and Parker, in his free time. He serves his community by volunteering with the United Way, The Banquet, Feeding South Dakota, and the South Dakota Parkinson’s Foundation. And as if that weren’t enough, he is also a founding and active member of the Baltic Area Development Foundation.

A Chester, SD, native, Derek earned his education at Dakota State University and the ABA National Commercial Lending School in Dallas, TX.