Farmers State Savings Bank (now known as BankIowa) was incorporated in Independence, Iowa, in February of 1921. The bank maintained steady growth in the years that followed and by 1991 had offices in Independence, Jesup, and Lamont. As a result of that growth, BankIowa became the largest financial institution in Buchanan County with total assets over $100,000,000. The need for diversification and the presence of opportunity resulted in rapid expansion for the bank in the late 1990's. In March of 1997 two banking facilities were purchased in Black Hawk County growing the bank's assets to over $180,000,000. With the newly acquired offices in Waterloo and Cedar Falls, the bank now served five different communities. In December of 1997 the Benton County Savings Bank in Norway, Iowa was purchased to facilitate expansion into Benton and Linn counties. In June of 1998, Farmers State Savings Bank changed its name to BankIowa. In 2020 a new office was opened in Marion, Iowa. In 2021, BankIowa acquired Rowley Savings Bank in Rowley, IA