Tyrese Haliburton didn’t need long to connect the dots once Harrison Barnes’ Iowa bank purchase started making the rounds.
Barnes, the NBA champion and current San Antonio Spurs forward, revealed in an interview with Paul Davis of Bank Slate that he bought a small bank in his home state of Iowa. The deal is worth $25 million. Soon after, Barnes made a stop at Community State Bank in Paton last Wednesday, where he met the staff and introduced the new directors, according to Coltrane Carlson of raccoonvalleyradio.com.
Barnes said what drew him in was the bank’s background and the people running it.
“I think what makes Community State Bank, so special, are really just how this bank was formed. But, the leadership of (CEO) Craig (Marquardt) and Jake (Bohnet) has been phenomenal. And I think that when you are talking about banking, you’re talking about trust and I think the leadership that those guys exemplify on a day-to-day basis makes it exciting to want to support and build upon the legacy that they can say that’s been here now for 70 years.”
He also explained how he handles the juggling act of being a player, an investor, a husband and a father. Barnes enrolled in the Iowa School for Banking with the Iowa Bankers Association while the Spurs were in the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks, and he said the key is being locked into whatever role he’s in at the moment.
“I think the biggest thing is that you have to be where your feet are. When I’m focused on basketball and I’m in that lane, I’m 100 percent a basketball player.
When I’m here trying to figure out how to best support and serve Community State Bank, I’m 100-percent in this lane, right? When I’m at home and I’m with my family, I’m 100-percent a husband and a father right?
Like, I think every time that you step into a room, you step into a space, you are 100-percent where you’re feet are at, and that’s how I find the balance.”
Per Carlson, everything at the bank will remain the same except the ownership, which is now with Barnes & Company.
Haliburton, Barnes’ former Sacramento Kings teammate and now an Indiana Pacers guard, said Barnes had been talking about this move for a while. Once the news spread online, he pointed back to Barnes laying out the plan during the 2020-2021 season.
“HB told me this was the plan my rookie year!! I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. That was the first time I realized dudes in the NBA got real families and are real adults like wtf lol,” Haliburton wrote on X.
Barnes & Co.’s portfolio already includes several financial names, among them HBT Financial, Triumph Financial, Live Oak Bank, Cass Information Systems, Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Limited, Oak Valley Bancorp, Westamerica Bancorporation and FFB Bancorp.
The site says Barnes & Co.’s mission is to protect and develop the human, intellectual, financial, and brand of the Harrison & Brittany Barnes Family. It also states: “Barnes & Co. mission is to protect and develop the human, intellectual, financial and social capital of the Harrison & Brittany Barnes Family.
The non-indexed portion of the firm's holdings, are focused in financial services. Investments in a concentrated core of traditional financial institutions are complemented by select involvement in venture-backed B2B financial technologies.”
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