First Interstate Bank is headquartered in BILLINGS and is the largest bank in the state of Montana. It is also the 70th largest bank in the nation. It was established in 1916 and as of March of 2023, it had grown to 3,598 employees at 311 locations. First Interstate Bank has a B+ health rating.
Review of banking with First Interstate Bank
My wife and I have been banking with First Interstate Bank for over 7 years now. Frankly we've been impressed with nearly everything they've done for us. We have a checking account, a savings account, and 2 other personal checking accounts, and everything has worked well for us for years now. Their online site is easy to use for the most part. I wouldn't say it's the most outstanding website I've ever used, but it's adequate for what you need, which is all a bank should really have anyway. Their rates are pretty competitive with industry standards. It's quite easy to make internal and external transfers to get money moved around where we need it. We haven't used the online bill pay option, but it is available. It is also very easy to get enrolled in e-statements and they are always easily accessible whenever I need to get a bank statement. As far as we are concerned, they have a very good security system in place to keep our private banking information and account numbers from being hacked. We have been happy banking with First Interstate Bank and plan to continue using them in the future.
Great Bank, Highly Recommend
I have kept my money in several other banks in the valley, but this is my favorite by far. Their online banking is accessible and easy to use both on my PC and phone. They even have a feature where you can deposit a check remotely through the online banking app using photos. They have extremely reasonable fees, and even their overdraft charges are minimal. The customer service is also always excellent. I plan on banking with this institution for a long time.
Worst Fees Ever
I have been banking with First Interstate Bank for about 8 years now. They have been a good bank for the most part however, in the past year so they have been making some dumb decisions. First, they have not updated their banking website in years. Another bad thing is when I opened up a savings account this year, I deposited a substantial amount of money from my checking account into my banking account ($1000+) and then was told I would be receiving paperwork and that I would need to sign. We get the paperwork 2 weeks later on the day of the deadline for bringing them in. I had to leave work to go sign these papers. But, the single worst thing about this bank the worst ever is their huge lack of communication. I would get random declines on my debit card in the past year due to their new system "checking" for fraud. I'd have to call then go into their branch and sign some papers. The transactions were local by the way. This is yet another time I had to go in. The next huge bad thing happened when I all of a sudden received an Uncollected Items fee for $30. I asked what it was for they told me it was because I didn't have any money in my account. I told them I made a deposit yesterday so they refunded the fee. Well 6 months down the line I get another Uncollected Items fee when this time, they said it was valid because I used my debit card when the funds in my bank weren't quite available. This bothered me because for one, this was not the case in the past and also on my online account it clearly shows the money deposited. Well something changed in the past 6 months and now I wasn't able to use my debit card until the next day even though it showed the funds deposited online. I asked the customer service rep how would I know if its available yet? She told me to call and I said I deposit checks all the time and cannot be calling every single time and also why wasn't I notified? I told her that the last customer service rep removed that fee and she told me they were unauthorized to do that and they shouldn't have done that. I submitted a complaint over this and have to this day not received anything back. The fee is still charged to my account. So in the end, their software seems outdated, they have a horrible time communicating and the customer service is patronizing. I could not recommend banking with this institution.
Beyond Negative Stars!!
If I could give them negative stars I would! First Interstate Bank is an institution of incompetence and scam artists. I had to shut down my bank accounts because they were moving money around without my knowledge or authorization. I was patient and understanding but the problem persisted with no end in sight. The credit card division of First Interstate is even worse. They redeemed a payment but keep sending me statements with interest and late fees for something they were already payed on. I have sent letters with proof from my current bank that it was redeemed on there end and had numerous mind numbing phone calls that lead right back to square one over and over and over again. They have ridiculous excuses for why it's not getting fixed. Most recently I spoke with a very rude and unprofessional lady that gave me an email to send proof of payment but it was an incorrect email address. I have given up and payed it again with interest and late fees to save my own sanity and move on from dealing with these crooks. DO NOT BANK WITH FIRST INTERSTATE BANK!!!!!!!!!!
Horrible - Bad Website And Horrible Customer Service
This is the worse bank. If you need any kind of customer service, plan on being "On Hold" for several minutes to hours, plan on someone disconnecting you (on the bank's end) anytime they transfer you to talk to someone else, and don't plan on talking to anyone from a local bank unless you go to the bank in "person". This has been a frustrating experience since my old bank merged with FIB. Don't be surprised when you get someone that speaks broken english with a thick accent to help you and good luck understanding them. I have had this happen all 9 times I have had to call this bank and it is just the worse. I am done and now moving to a new bank.
Resolution:
Long wait times on phone? Offer to call the customer back so we don't have to listen to horrible music waiting on hold for an hour or more. And have them actually call back! They never do.
Have your Customer Service Reps take your number in case you get disconnected so they can call back. Horrible not to do this!
Update your website so things work and are easily explained so it reduces calls and the need for customer service. Example: Adding another financial institution to make external transfers. It says to come back to verify 2-3 days. I did. But no mention on where to go to Verify! Finally found it in another tab (stupid not to let the customer know where to go or have a link to bring them there). Then I put in my deposits I got from the bank to verify, and it said they were wrong and took away the option to add them in again, even though I had put the right totals in the first place. So frustrating and horrible experience with this bank over and over.
Data as of Q1 2023
Learn why bank health mattersHealth Grade Components
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| FDIC Certificate # | 1105 |
| Year Established | 1916 |
| Employees | 3598 |
| Primary Regulator | FED |
| Profit Margin | |
|---|---|
| Return on Assets - YTD | 0.78% |
| Return on Equity - YTD | 7.82% |
| Annual Interest Income | $315.8MM |
| Assets and Liabilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Assets | Q1 2023vs Q1 2022 | $31.57B$33.07B |
| Loans | Q1 2023vs Q1 2022 | $18.10B$16.88B |
| Deposits | Q1 2023vs Q1 2022 | $24.25B$28.09B |
| Equity Capital | Q1 2023vs Q1 2022 | $3.23B$3.53B |
| Loan Loss Allowance | Q1 2023vs Q1 2022 | $226.1MM$247.2MM |
| Unbacked Noncurrent Loans | Q1 2023vs Q1 2022 | $83.7MM$120.7MM |
| Real Estate Owned | Q1 2023vs Q1 2022 | $13.4MM$17.5MM |
