December 22, 2008

A tiny bank in Happy, Texas, is a century old but hasn't before seen the kind of deposit growth that it's seen in the last three months.By any measure, it's been an extraordinary year for anyone in the U.S. banking industry. But Happy State Bank, with headquarters in a town with an irresistible name, has been the face of steadfast calm during a period of intense global financial turmoil, drawing $30 million in deposits since September into its 20 branches in the Texas Panhandle, double the rate of deposit growth in a similar period in recent.

"It's our 100th-year anniversary, and it's a nice way to celebrate," says Pat Hickman, CEO of Happy State Bank, which has $960 million in assets and was established in 1908 in Happy, a town with just over 650 residents in northwest Texas.

This year's financial chaos hit its peak in September when investment bank Lehman Bros. collapsed, the government seized insurance giant American International Group, Washington Mutual became the largest bank failure in U.S. history, and an ailing Wachovia was acquired by Wells Fargo.