The newest Minnesota Lakes Bank personal banker and consumer lender, Brady Malberg, is a self-described “numbers guy,” a good attribute for someone who wants to work in the finance world with people.
Brady is a small-town guy, growing up in Mayer, Minnesota, a Carver County community of 2,400 southwest of the Twin Cities. After graduating from Watertown-Mayer High School, he attended Mankato State University to work on a degree in sports management.
“After a year I realized that direction wasn’t for me, so I transferred to Ridgewater College in Hutchinson,” said Brady. “I took classes that laid the foundation for a bachelor’s degree.
“After my second year in school, I got a summer job at Bremer Bank in Watertown,” he continued. “The job was to learn the ropes in operations and consumer lending, and by the end of the summer I decided to stick with the job and postpone returning to college. It felt good to be earning some money and doing something that interested me.”
After his third year at Bremer, Brady began to think about other opportunities. Brady’s mother worked for a home mortgage title company, and she did a lot of business with Minnesota Lakes Bank. Almost by accident he came across a Minnesota Lakes Bank ‘help wanted’ ad, and since his mother was familiar with how they operated, he decided to take a chance on applying.
“I did some homework on Minnesota Lakes Bank, and I liked the way they were so involved in the community,” Brady explained. “I was appreciative of getting my start at Bremer, but the opportunity to learn the ropes in the consumer lending department, something completely new for me, sounded too good to pass up.”
Brady was hired in August 2024, and what he appreciates most about the job is that every customer interaction presents new challenges.
“I’ve learned to always be on my toes, because it seems like every situation is different,” he explained. “Whether it’s buying a car, opening a home equity line of credit, or anything else, my job is to help each customer through the lending process. There are hiccups sometimes, but I find internal fulfillment and satisfaction from getting them what they need.”
Brady is the only consumer lender, and he’s leaning on his colleagues in the lending team—Josh Gehlen, Sherry Valley, and Austin Wiberg—to expand his knowledge base. While he can sometimes be found in the Delano office, most of his work time is spent in Mound, an area with market growth potential.
Brady is passionate about his golf game when he has free time to spend during the spring, summer and fall months. Otherwise, he’ll occupy himself with video games and studying financial markets to assist his hobby of in-home futures trading.
“I’ve been very fortunate to have supportive parents and a great team of people to work with,” said Brady. “This bank really encourages getting involved in community activities, and the opportunities I’ve had already—the Trunk or Treat event in Delano and Small Business Saturday—are impressive ways to interact with customers.”