Iowa Trust Bank is located at 120 E. Main St. in Panora.
Besides Panora, Iowa Trust Bank has locations in Emmetsburg, Clive and Sac City.
By Rich Wicks | Panora Times, December 2025
Those new to the Panora area may not realize the long roots that Iowa Trust Bank has in the community. Iowa Trust’s President-Panora and Chief Retail Officer Julie Dent-Zajicek shared information on the history and the offerings the bank provides.
“The bank was originally established in 1959 as Panora State Bank, serving local families, farmers and small businesses. I worked with Panora State Bank since 1991. In 2018, Panora State Bank merged with Iowa Trust & Savings Bank, joining an organization whose values and commitment to community are closely aligned with Panora State Bank. The merger strengthened our ability to provide expanded services while maintaining the trusted local relationships the community had always relied on,” Dent-Zajicek said.
Iowa Trust Bank was founded in 1929. Besides Panora, Iowa Trust Bank has locations in Emmetsburg (headquarters and original location), Clive and Sac City. Services offered include personal and business deposit accounts, lending (agricultural, mortgage and commercial), treasury management services, and more.
Pam Beardsley, Julie Dent-Zajicek, Angella Losee, Trudy Hastings and Trista Johnston during the recent Panora Holiday Open House event.
For those unfamiliar with the term “treasury management services,” Dent-Zajicek explained.
“Those are a suite of products that are focused on businesses and the needs of commercial businesses,” she said. “It includes things like access to ACH services, access to QuickBooks, fraud protection products and things like that.”
Dent-Zajicek pointed out the benefit of Iowa Trust’s multiple branches.
“One of the strengths of Iowa Trust is the way our branches work together as one team. If a customer’s local branch is busy, staff at another branch step in immediately to help, ensuring quick service and support. It’s a true team-first environment, and our customers feel that every day,” Dent-Zajicek said. “That collaboration across locations is something we’re especially proud of, because it reflects who we are: committed, people-focused and always ready to go the extra mile.”
According to Dent-Zajicek, Iowa Trust in Panora offers customers the best of both worlds, blending small-town interactions with a broad range of services.
“In Panora, we have six employees. One of them is part-time. Our customers do see some additional faces because we’re fortunate in that some of our retired employees choose to come back and work for us as we need them,” Dent-Zajicek said. “The merger was really a good fit for us. What makes us special is the fact that you can help customers on a personal level when you know your customers, but yet you can provide them with all of the same services that they could get at a larger bank. And we want to make sure that we give our employees the skills and the tools they need to provide good service to our customers.”
Dent-Zajicek shared that the bank continues to be an active and giving member of the local community.
“We support our local schools, youth programs, economic development efforts,” she said.
Dent-Zajicek also stays personally involved in the community, having served on groups such as the Guthrie County Community Foundation, Tori’s Angels Foundation, Panora Economic Development Group, Little Panthers Daycare and Preschool, and others.
Although Iowa Trust has no immediate expansion plans at the Panora branch, Dent-Zajicek said the bank continues to bring in new services to keep pace with changes in the banking industry.
One of the major changes in the modern financial world is the prevalence of fraud and scams. Dent-Zajicek said Iowa Trust and her staff are well-versed on helping protect customers from these dangers.
“I really do feel that one of our key responsibilities, not only to protect the bank, but to protect our customers, is educating customers about fraud,” Dent-Zajicek said. “Educating and trying to discover potential fraud as quickly as we can. At Iowa Trust, we have hired a fraud specialist. She’s available to all of our branches.”
Scams continue to evolve in new and creative ways, so Dent-Zajicek encourages customers to rely on known staff when these attempts occur.
“The fraudsters are just really good,” Dent-Zajicek said. “One thing I try to tell our customers is that any one of us can be a victim of fraud; it’s not something to be embarrassed about. So the best thing you can do is call your bank and talk to the person you know. Make sure you’re creating the call, not someone calling to you.” n
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