Lee Ricks Email Address

Senior Credit Officer, Senior Vice President

Valley Bank of Helena is a full service, locally-directed community bank serving residents of Helena, East Helena and our neighboring communities with a range of personal and business banking services.

I grew up in northern lower Michigan and began exploring the local trout streams from the time I was old enough to withstand the force of their currents. Before long, however, I felt a gravitational pull to move west, and after graduation, my then-girlfriend (now wife) and I moved to Helena, Montana to be closer to the hallowed reaches of our nation’s best trout fishing. Many bankers will freely admit that they got into our profession by accident. This is not the case for me; I knew from a very young age that I wanted to be in banking and it’s a career that I’ve loved since day-one. A running joke amongst commercial lenders is “those that can, start a business; those that can’t, lend”. There may be some truth to that, but I love working with entrepreneurs to grow their business through prudent lending and collaborative strategizing. When not in the office, I enjoy working on cold-water conservation projects and try to spend as much time as possible with my wife and two daughters (ages 4 and 6) in the unspoiled corners of Montana’s backcountry.