History of HSB

The Articles of Association for Harwood State Bank were created on June 28th, 1919 and were forwarded to the Secretary of State of North Dakota. The principal place of business was to be Harwood, a town of 70 people. There were nine investors who purchased stock in the new corporation for a total of $18,000.00 of capital stock. Harwood State Bank was granted a charter by the Secretary of State on July 14th, 1919 that was published in the Fargo Daily Courier News on September 5th, 1919. On August 18, 1919 J.C. Stennes, cashier, received a bond in the amount of $10,000 and the bank was opened on August 29, 1919. 

During the 1920's and 1930's many things were happening in the Banking industry in North Dakota. Almost every small town in North Dakota had a bank but by the end of the thirties many had closed. In 1928 Harwood State Bank had deposits of $125,000 and loans of $100,000. In 1933 Harwood State Bank applied for membership in the Temporary Federal Deposit Insurance Fund. They also borrowed $18,000 from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, a corporation set up for use by North Dakota State banks, for paying expenses and for the anticipated withdrawals in the next 30 days. They were granted deposit insurance for an amount of $5,000 for each depositor from the newly formed Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. 

Harwood State Bank was one of the banks to survive that era with a strong capital ratio. The bank sold $7,000 more in stock in 1951 to raise the capital stock to $25,000. There have been two stock splits since that time. The first in 1959 and the second in 1980, and our capital stock is now $100,000. In 1959 the bank completed a new building project in Harwood. 

In 1993, the stockholders of the bank transferred its assets to a new holding company. The holding company is called HSB Financial Corporation and continues to operate Harwood State Bank.

HSB has a proven history of stability with a personal touch that you can count on. Please give us the opportunity to continue this tradition in the future. We hope you have enjoyed reading about the experiences, which have made HSB what it is today.