The San Antonio parent company of Frost Bank has invested $5 million in a tiny Iowa bank now controlled by Spurs forward Harrison Barnes, deepening a financial relationship between the team and the bank that stretches back more than five decades. Cullen/Frost Bankers Inc. will receive preferred stock in Barnes Bancorp Inc. in exchange for the money, which is meant to provide fresh capital for Community State Bank, the 70-year-old, five-employee agricultural lender in Paton that Barnes bought earlier this year.
A Long-Running Spurs Connection Pays Off
According to the San Antonio Express-News, Barnes committed $25 million earlier in 2026 to purchase Community State Bank, and his representative later approached Cullen/Frost Bankers about the investment. Phil Green, the company's chairman and CEO, said Cullen/Frost decided to make the move after evaluating its connection to Barnes, telling the paper that Barnes has a heart for his home and wants people in the area to be banked. Frost Bank has a long relationship with the Spurs, though the team itself was not involved in arranging the investment, per the same report.
That relationship is also central to how the San Antonio Business Journal framed the deal, describing it as expanding an alliance between the NBA team and the institution that dates back more than 50 years. Cullen/Frost, which had $53.9 billion in assets as of June 30, 2026, is the parent company of Frost Bank. Bill Day, a spokesperson quoted by the Express-News, said the transaction does not signal that Cullen/Frost is expanding its business beyond Texas, and the company noted the investment can also help it meet federal requirements to serve low- and moderate-income communities.
From Ames High School Standout to Bank Owner
Barnes grew up in Ames, Iowa, about 40 minutes from Paton, and played for Ames High School before his basketball career took him to the NBA, according to AfroTech. He has invested in other banks through his family office and has served on the boards of First National Bank in Ames and a Dallas institution, per the Express-News. Last spring, while still playing in the NBA Finals, Barnes took online courses through the Iowa School of Banking, a detail also reported by Raccoon Valley Radio, which covered his visit to the bank after the purchase closed. AfroTech attributed Barnes's description of the acquisition as not a vanity project to his Q&A with The Bank Slate. Barnes also said banking was an option he wanted to pursue as he enters the final years of his playing career, the station reported.
Barnes Bancorp Inc., chiefly owned by Barnes, is now the owner of Community State Bank, with Craig Marquardt continuing as the bank's CEO and president, a role he has held for 37 years. Raccoon Valley Radio reported that the bank's name, staff and management team all remained in place after the sale, with ownership by Barnes & Company described as the main change. Barnes has called the purchase a significant and permanent investment in Iowa, and has said he wants Community State Bank to become Iowa's next great bank, according to AfroTech.
A Small Lender With a Clean Loan Book
Community State Bank is a small agricultural lender with a single office, and it has focused largely on lending to farmers in the Paton area. As of June 30, 2026, it reported $41.4 million in assets, $33.6 million in deposits and $13.3 million in loans, along with five employees and $120,000 in net income for the first half of the year, per the Express-News. The bank reported no loans past due by 30 days or more, none past due by 90 days or more, and none in nonaccrual status as of that date. It is also designated a minority depository institution, the paper noted.
Barnes Bancorp now works alongside Community State Bank's management team on strategy, capital and growth, the Express-News reported. A June 9, 2026 notice in the Federal Register listed Barnes Bancorp Inc. of Mount Vernon, Iowa, as seeking to become a bank holding company by acquiring Community State Bank in Paton. The sale itself drew earlier local coverage, with Raccoon Valley Radio reporting in August that the purchase of Community State Bank was complete, calling Barnes the proud new owner of a bank celebrating its 70th anniversary this year.
What the Investment Means Going Forward
For Cullen/Frost, the $5 million stake marks its first investment at this scale, according to the Express-News, which also reported that the Spurs organization itself played no role in brokering the deal despite the team's decades-long ties to Frost Bank. The paper's reporting leaves open exactly how the preferred stock arrangement will function long-term, though it frames the capital as intended to support the small bank's balance sheet as it operates under new ownership.
