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Pathward Financial, Inc.
FormerlyMeta Financial Group, Inc.
Company typePublic
IndustryFinancial services
Founded1954; 70 years ago (1954) in Storm Lake, Iowa, U.S.
Incorporated in Delaware on June 14, 1993; 31 years ago (1993-06-14)
FounderStanley H. Haahr
HeadquartersSioux Falls, South Dakota, U.S.
Area served
Nationwide
Key people
Brett Pharr
(CEO)
Anthony Sharett
(president)
Greg Sigrist
(EVP & CFO)
ProductsConsumer banking
Commercial banking
Credit cards
Finance & Insurance
Mortgage loans
Prepaid cards
ATM sponsorship
ACH origination
RevenueIncrease US$704.46 million
(FY SEP 30 2023)
Increase US$182.13 million
(FY SEP 30 2023)
Increase US$163.62 million
(FY SEP 30 2023)
Total assetsIncrease US$7.54 billion
(FY SEP 30 2023)
Total equityIncrease US$650.63 million
(FY SEP 30 2023)
Number of employees
1,193
(FY SEP 30 2023)
Websitewww.pathward.com
Footnotes / references
[1][2]

Pathward Financial, Inc. (formerly known as MetaBank) is a U.S.-based banking and financial services company. It adopted its current name in 2022 after its parent, Meta Financial Group, sold the "Meta" trademark to Meta Platforms.[3]

The bank operates in several segments within the banking and payments industry: banking as a service, commercial finance and tax services.[4]

History

[edit]

Founding

[edit]
Original Storm Lake Savings and Loan Association building
Original Storm Lake Savings and Loan Association building

Pathward was founded as Storm Lake Savings and Loan Association in 1954 by Stanley H. Haahr, who remained on the Board of Directors until 1990 and served as board chairman from 1981 to 1990.[5] The bank purchased the Bradford Hotel property in Storm Lake at Fifth and Erie in 1970, and construction was completed on the bank's new headquarters in 1972. By 1993, the bank changed its name from First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Storm Lake to First Federal Savings Bank of the Midwest, a subsidiary of First Midwest Financial, Inc.[6] On September 20, 1993, 1.9 million shares of stock in First Midwest Financial, Inc., were issued at $10 per share and began trading on the NASDAQ stock market under the symbol “CASH.”[7]

Acquisitions

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In 1994, Brookings Federal Bank, a federal savings bank in Brookings, South Dakota, was acquired and operated as the Brookings Federal Bank Division of First Federal Savings Bank of the Midwest.[8] In 1996, Iowa Savings Bank in Des Moines was purchased and operated as the Iowa Savings Bank Division of First Federal Savings Bank of the Midwest.[9]

In January 2018, Pathward acquired Crestmark Bank.[10]

In March 2020, Pathward announced the sale of its community bank division to Central Bank, a state-chartered bank headquartered in Storm Lake, Iowa.[11]

Expansion

[edit]
MetaBank Corporate Services Headquarters in Sioux Falls
MetaBank Corporate Services Headquarters in Sioux Falls

First Federal opened the doors to its first Sioux Falls office – a temporary facility – on September 6, 2000.[12] In 2004, the Meta Payment Systems (MPS) division was established in Sioux Falls.[13] The next year, in 2005, all bank divisions under First Federal changed their names to MetaBank, inhabiting four market areas: Central Iowa; Northwest Iowa; Brookings; and Sioux Falls.[14] In 2009, MetaBank introduced a new retail product line and the MPS division became a leading issuer of rebate and gift cards in the United States and worldwide[15] and one of the top issuers of Visa, MasterCard and Discover prepaid cards.[16]

In 2014, MetaBank announced the acquisition of AFS/IBEX Financial Services Inc., an insurance premium financing company based in Dallas, Texas.[17][18]

MetaBank announced the acquisition of Refund Advantage, a tax refund-transfer software company based in Louisville, Kentucky, in 2015.[19]

In 2016, MetaBank announced two acquisitions: EPS Financial in November and Specialty Consumer Services (SCS) in December.[20][21] EPS provides tax-related financial transaction solutions. They are headquartered in Easton, Pennsylvania[22] SCS provides consumer tax advance services through its underwriting and loan management system. SCS is based in Hurst, Texas.[23]

Pathward issued debit cards of up to $600 sent to millions of Americans as part of the second round of COVID-19 Economic Impact Payments in January 2021. MetaBank acted as the U.S. Treasury's "financial agent" for this purpose.[24]


Illegal Activities and Fines

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Pathward Bank has agreed to pay about $700,000 in refunds and penalties stemming from an investigation conducted by the New York Attorney General's Office that revealed the bank unlawfully froze customer accounts and illegally transferred money to debt collectors.

Pathward cooperated with the investigation and voluntarily began remedying its practices last year, according to a Wednesday release from NY AG Letitia James's office. “We are updating our procedures and are confident that similar issues will not occur going forward,” a Pathward spokesperson said in an email. “We empathize with customers adversely affected and will work hard to regain their trust.”

The bank will refund $79,664 plus interest to about 88 New Yorkers who had funds turned over to debt collectors. Pathward is also ordered to pay a penalty of $627,000 for its “illegal and deceptive conduct,” according to the press release.

Corporate leadership

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James S. Haahr became President and Chief Executive Officer of Meta Financial Group, Inc., in 1993.[25] J. Tyler Haahr took over the position of President and CEO in 2005.[26][27] In 2011, James Haahr resigned as chairman, and J. Tyler Haahr became chairman and CEO.[28] James and Tyler Haahr are the son and grandson of founder Stanley Haahr.[29]

Brad Hanson served as President of the Meta Payment Systems division beginning with its inception in 2004.[30][31] He was appointed President of Meta Financial Group and MetaBank in 2013.[32]

In 2021, Hanson announced his plans to retire, and Brett Pharr was named the new CEO and Anthony Sharett was named the new President of Meta Financial and MetaBank.[33]

Glen Herrick joined MetaBank in 2013 and served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Meta Financial Group and MetaBank.[34] In 2023, Herrick retired from Pathward and was succeeded by Greg Sigrist.[35]  

Nadia Dombrowski joined MetaBank in 2022 as Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer[36] and later her title changed to Executive Vice President, Chief Legal and Administrative Officer as her role expanded.[37]

Charles Ingram joined MetaBank in 2020 as Executive Vice President, Chief Information Officer and in 2021 his title changed to Executive Vice President and Chief Technology and Product Officer as his role expanded.[38]

Sale of trademark and rebranding

[edit]

In December 2021, Meta Financial Group sold its "Meta" trademark to Facebook's parent company (now called Meta Platforms) for $60 million. The agreement required Meta Financial Group to phase out the trademark within one year.[3] In March 2022, the financial services company announced it would change its brand to Pathward.[39]

Locations and divisions

[edit]
Metabank branch in Storm Lake

Pathward is headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota[40][41] The Insurance Premium Finance business unit is headquartered in Dallas, Texas,[42] with an additional office in Newport Beach, California.[43] Refund Advantage is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.[44] EPS is headquartered in Easton, Pennsylvania.[22] SCS is headquartered in Hurst, Texas.[23]

Pathward's Insurance Premium Finance unit provides short-term, collateralized financing to facilitate the purchase of insurance for commercial property, casualty and liability risk. The business unit originates loans through a network of independent insurance agencies.

Refund Advantage, based in Louisville, Kentucky, provides tax refund-transfer software for Electronic Return Originators (EROs) and their customers. Their software is used in over 10,000 locations nationwide and processes over one million refund-transfers a year.[citation needed]

EPS Financial (EPS) provides refund settlement products, prepaid payroll card solutions and merchant services. EPS is headquartered in Easton, Pennsylvania.

Specialty Consumer Services (SCS) provides consumer tax advance services through its proprietary underwriting model and loan management system. Based in Hurst, Texas, SCS was a pioneer for no-fee refund advance products.

Awards and honors

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In 2024[45] and 2023, Pathward earned a Great Place to Work® certification.

In 2024, Forbes named Pathward to its 2024 list of America's Best Banks,[46] Nacha named Pathward one of the Top 50 financial institution originators and receivers of ACH payments in the country,[47] and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc. named Pathward Financial to the KBW Bank Honor Roll.[48]

Pathward, N.A., ranks among Investor's Business Daily's (IBD) list of 100 Best ESG Companies for 2023.[49]

Newsweek ranked Pathward among America's Greatest Workplaces; Greatest Workplaces for Women; Greatest Workplaces for Diversity; and Greatest Workplaces for Parents and Families in 2023.

Pathward was included among the Sandler O’Neill and Partners "Bank and Thrift Sm-All Stars – Class of 2012", which ranked the top 25 performing small-cap banks in the country.[50] MetaBank was also named fifth in the nation among top-performing, mid-size banks by the American Banking Association Journal in 2013.[51] MetaBank ranked among the top 25 among the nation's community banks and thrifts, according to American Banker magazine, in 2013[52] and was named to the Top 200 Community Banks and Thrifts list again in 2014.[53]

Pathward was named one of the top performing banks with assets of $1B to $10B by American Banker in 2015.[54] AFS/IBEX division was selected by the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas (IIAT) to be its exclusive premium finance company of choice in 2015.[55] In 2016, Bank Director Magazine named MetaBank the number one top growth bank of 7,000 banks nationwide.[56] Pathward received an investment grade rating by Kroll Bond Rating Agency in 2016.[57] EPS was named "Business of the Year (25–100 employees) by Lehigh Valley Business in 2016.[58]

Meta Payment Systems division cofounder and Pathward President Brad Hanson received a 2009 Industry Achievement Award from Paybefore in 2009.[59] Pathward's Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer John Hagy was named among the Top 10 Payments Lawyers by Paybefore in 2015.[60]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "MetaBank History". MetaBank.com. Retrieved 2015-05-11.
  2. ^ "US SEC: Form 10-K Meta Financial Group, Inc". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
  3. ^ a b Zionts, Arielle (17 December 2021). "Sioux Falls bank to rebrand after $60 million deal with Facebook's parent company". South Dakota Public Broadcasting. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  4. ^ "Pathward Financial, Inc. Announces Results for 2024 Fiscal Second Quarter". www.businesswire.com. 2024-04-24. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
  5. ^ "Stanley H. Haahr". 8 March 2005. Retrieved 2017-02-10.
  6. ^ "InstitutionHistory". www.ffiec.gov. Retrieved 2017-02-10.
  7. ^ Lynch, Peter (2012-03-13). Beating the Street. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781451687064.
  8. ^ "FDIC: Institution Directory - External Confirmation". www2.fdic.gov. Retrieved 2016-07-01.
  9. ^ "FDIC: Institution Directory - External Confirmation". www2.fdic.gov. Retrieved 2016-07-01.
  10. ^ "Crestmark Bancorp, Inc. Announces Agreement to be Acquired by Meta Financial Group, Inc".
  11. ^ "MetaBank® Closes Sale of the Community Bank Division". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  12. ^ "First Midwest Financial, Inc. Reports First Quarter Earnings". www.prnewswire.com. First Midwest Financial. Retrieved 2016-07-01.
  13. ^ "Meta Payment Systems Inc.: Private Company Information - Businessweek". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2016-07-01.
  14. ^ "InstitutionHistory". www.ffiec.gov. Retrieved 2016-07-01.
  15. ^ "History - Why MetaBank? - MetaBank". www.metabank.com. Retrieved 2017-02-24.
  16. ^ "Prepaid Cards in the U.S." Nilson Report. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  17. ^ "MetaBank to buy insurance premium finance company". Argus Leader. Retrieved 2017-02-24.
  18. ^ "MetaBank completes acquisition of insurance premium finance company - Business Record". Business Record. Retrieved 2017-02-24.
  19. ^ "MetaBank to Acquire the Assets of Fort Knox Financial Services Corporation - The Bank to Enter the Tax Refund Industry". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Meta Financial Group Inc. Retrieved 2017-02-24.
  20. ^ "Meta announces $42 million acquisition". Argus Leader. Retrieved 2017-02-24.
  21. ^ "MetaBank® Completes Acquisition of Specialty Consumer Services LP". Archived from the original on 2017-02-24. Retrieved 2017-02-24.
  22. ^ a b "Google Maps". Google Maps. Retrieved 2017-02-24.
  23. ^ a b "Google Maps". Google Maps. Retrieved 2017-02-24.
  24. ^ Julia Glum. What Is Metabank, and Why Is It in Charge of Stimulus Check Debit Cards? Money.com. January 8, 2021.
  25. ^ "undefined undefined undefined undefined: Executive Profile & Biography - Businessweek". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2016-07-01.
  26. ^ J. Tyler Haahr bio at metafinancialgroup.com
  27. ^ "J. Tyler Haahr: Executive Profile & Biography - Businessweek". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2016-07-01.
  28. ^ "Meta Financial Group Announces Retirement of Chairman James S. Haahr". www.prnewswire.com. Meta Financial Group. Retrieved 2016-07-01.
  29. ^ Jodi Schwan. Leading Sioux Falls’ newest billion-dollar company, CEO's story blends family roots with futuristic thinking, SiouxFalls.Business, Jan 22, 2018
  30. ^ Brad Hanson bio at metafinancialgroup.com
  31. ^ "Brad Hanson: Executive Profile & Biography - Businessweek". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2016-07-01.
  32. ^ "Meta Financial Group, Inc. ® Announces Executive Appointments". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Meta Financial Group. Retrieved 2016-07-01.
  33. ^ Schwan, Jodi (September 8, 2021). "Successors named as Meta president, CEO to retire". SiouxFalls.Business.
  34. ^ Glen Herrick bio at metafinancialgroup.com
  35. ^ "Pathward Appoints Greg Sigrist as Next Chief Financial Officer". www.businesswire.com. 2023-10-05. Retrieved 2024-04-26.
  36. ^ Staff (2022-01-18). "People You Should Know". SiouxFalls.Business. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  37. ^ "Nadia Dombrowski". www.pathward.com. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  38. ^ "Charles Ingram". www.pathward.com. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  39. ^ "MetaBank Announces Name Change to Pathward". Meta Financial Group. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  40. ^ "Google Maps". Google Maps. Retrieved 2017-02-24.
  41. ^ "Google Maps". Google Maps. Retrieved 2017-02-24.
  42. ^ "Google Maps". Google Maps. Retrieved 2017-02-24.
  43. ^ "Google Maps". Google Maps. Retrieved 2017-02-24.
  44. ^ "Google Maps". Google Maps. Retrieved 2017-02-24.
  45. ^ Work, Great Place To. "Pathward, National Association". Great Place To Work®. Retrieved 2024-04-26.
  46. ^ MURPHY", "ANDREA. "America's Best Banks 2024". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-04-26.
  47. ^ "Nacha Unveils Top 50 ACH Originating and Receiving Financial Institutions for 2023 | Nacha". www.nacha.org. Retrieved 2024-04-26.
  48. ^ Inc. (KBW), Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (2024-04-30). "KBW Announces 2024 Bank Honor Roll Award Winners". GlobeNewswire News Room. Retrieved 2024-05-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  49. ^ "100 ESG Stocks To Consider For Your Portfolio". Investor's Business Daily. 2023-10-27. Retrieved 2024-04-26.
  50. ^ "25 Sandler All Stars 09/05/12" (PDF).
  51. ^ "ABA Article" (PDF).[permanent dead link]
  52. ^ "Slow Progress: Our Ranking of the Top 200 Community Banks". American Banker. Retrieved 2017-02-24.
  53. ^ "Rising Tide: The Top 200 Community Banks". American Banker. Retrieved 2017-02-24.
  54. ^ "More Double-Digit Goodness: Our 2015 Ranking of Mid-Tier Banks". American Banker. 26 May 2015. Retrieved 2016-07-01.
  55. ^ "AFS/IBEX, a division of MetaBank®, named IIAT Advantage partner (Meta Financial Group Inc)". article.wn.com. Retrieved 2017-02-24.
  56. ^ "Who Are the Top Growth Banks?". Retrieved 2016-07-01.
  57. ^ "KBRA - Kroll Bond Rating Agency, Inc". www.kbra.com. Retrieved 2016-07-01.
  58. ^ "EPS Financial, Apprise Software, DESCCO among winners at Business of the Year 2016 | LVB". Lehigh Valley Business. Retrieved 2017-02-24.
  59. ^ "2009 Industry Achievement Awards: Brad Hanson (April 2009) - Paybefore". 2009-04-01. Retrieved 2016-07-01.
  60. ^ "Paybefore Names Top 10 Payments Lawyers (Feb. 25, 2015) - Paybefore". 2015-02-25. Retrieved 2016-07-01.
[edit]
  • Official website
  • Business data for Pathward Financial, Inc.:
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