Dollars & Sense

Physician Couple Says Private Banking Makes Them Feel Like a "Top Priority"

Elizabeth Helsper, MD and Clint Benge, MD

Most working couples with young children know the feeling of "not having enough hours in the day". 

But for Elizabeth Helsper, MD, and her husband Clint Benge, MD, both of whom are orthopedic surgeons at Sanford Orthopedics in Sioux Falls, the saying is actually true.

"We are always busy," says Helsper. "Both professionally, and in our home life. We really are going all the time."

For this couple, as for many others in healthcare, any service that can take something - or, better yet, multiple things - off their plate can be a game-changer. Which is why they now speak in glowing terms about their experience of private banking with Liz Carlson of American Bank & Trust in Sioux Falls.

"We are so grateful for the help we get from Liz," says Helpser, who says she and Benge moved their accounts to AB&T to take advantage of Carlson's services.

A longtime fixture in the Sioux Falls banking community, it's part of Carlson's job to make it simple and painless to migrate accounts from other banks. She helped launch AB&T's private banking department in 2023 and specializes in helping high-net worth clients like Helsper and Benge with virtually any financial need.

"The thing that has impressed me most is how easy it is to get things done," says Benge. "Often, just an email to Liz and ten minutes later, it's taken care of."

As an example, he points to the couple's recent application for a line of credit. Benge says Carlson set everything in motion, taking care of things behind the scenes and gathering the necessary paperwork to make the process quick and seamless.

"We were able to go into the bank and be done in 20 minutes," says Benge, who says he appreciates the more intimate banking experience of a community bank. "We really do feel like we are a top priority."