Idaho branch manager strives to help customers live better financial lives

Megan Johnson builds relationships with residents and businesses in the suburban Boise community

Less than two years after U.S. Bank opened its first branch in Star, a suburb of Boise, Idaho, the branch’s manager, Megan Johnson, has already built strong relationships in the community.

Johnson has been with U.S. Bank 15 years, but not continuously. She started as a teller out of high school, worked her way up through a few roles over several years, then left in 2007 to do volunteer work in Papua New Guinea.

“That led to me working as a teacher for 10 years, then I came back to U.S. Bank in 2019,” she said.

Since opening the Star branch, Johnson has made it a priority to coach and develop the employees she manages, and to build trusting relationships with residents and business owners.

“I really love teaching and coaching my team, and watching them grow and become better bankers,” Johnson said. “We have a really neat team that loves working here and loves working together, and that makes me love coming in to work every day.”

Another thing Johnson said she really enjoys is working with the branch’s customers, including business owners.

“Knowing that I’m making a difference or helping make their lives better in some way is really fulfilling,” she said. “I want to be the best I can be in my job – I don’t think you can ever really reach the apex – but it follows naturally when you care about the people first.”

Caring about the people she serves is important, Johnson said.

“Something that was ingrained in me since childhood is that people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care,” she said.

“People come to the branch to complete transactions, and we do that very well, but I also want to get to know people and understand what matters to them so I can let them know about ways we can help them,” Johnson said.

One client who said he benefitted from working with Johnson is Chris Heise, owner of the BoardRoom, which sells snowboards, skateboards, wakeboards and related products and accessories.

The BoardRoom recently celebrated its 30^th anniversary of doing business in the community.

“U.S. Bank has been our one bank for the business since its inception,” Heise said. “And then U.S. Bank became my personal bank about six months ago.”

Heise said he moved his multiple personal accounts to U.S. Bank when an issue with the bank he previously had those accounts in made him focus on how much he appreciated Johnson and her team.

“Megan is super professional and treats people like people, no smoke and mirrors,” he said. “She was the sole reason for me deciding to move my personal stuff there. Knowing how she looks out for my business accounts makes her the kind of person I want looking over my personal accounts, too.”