On August 19, 1891, at a meeting at the Fillmore County Bank in Strang, Nebraska, the GERMAN BANK of Bruning was organized.  The bank, with a capital of $10,000, opened for business.  The first day showed deposits of $100 and expenditures of $53.20 for miscellaneous supplies.

In December of 1892, a group of nine investors bought controlling interest.  These investors were:  Frank D. Bruning, Samuel Fitzsimmons, George Buss, R.A. Piggott, W.H. Dempster, J.E. Day, Anthony Martin, S.J. Fitzsimmons, and Mr. Bothwell.  Frank D. Bruning was elected President and began 40 years of service.

In 1912, at the age of seventeen, Fred H. Bruning, the son of Frank D. Bruning, was employed as Assistant Cashier.  His career here went on to last 53 years.

In 1918, during World War I, the name changed from GERMAN BANK to BRUNING STATE BANK.

In April of 1921, Bruning State Bank purchased the Farmer's State Bank across the street and moved into their building where they remained until 1966.

In 1933, a moratorium was declared, and 415 banks closed for three days by order of the State Banking Department.  On the fourth day, Bruning State Bank reopened 100% with no restrictions.

In 1942, Fred H. Bruning assumed the office of President of the Bank.  He also served as a president of the Nebraska Bankers Association during his career.  Paul Bruning, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, became a Director of the Bank in 1942.  Paul served on the board for 54 years.

In 1962, Frank L. Bruning was elected to the Board of Directors and officially began working as an employee of the Bank in 1964.  Upon the death of his father, Fred H. Bruning, in 1965, Frank became President.

The 75th anniversary of Bruning State Bank in 1966 coincided with the dedication of our new building.  The Bank's capital was $100,000 and assets totaled $3,383,317.  Since then, we have made 5 expansions to our building.

Representing the fourth generation of Bruning family bankers is Fred D. Bruning.  Fred joined the bank in 1990 as Vice President.  Fred also serves as a Director and is President of Bruning Bancshares, Inc., the holding company of Bruning Bank.

In 1991, the 100th anniversary of our founding, capital and surplus totaled $2,000,000.  Assets were at $51,542,000 and deposits were at $44,923,000.  In March of that same year, we added a loan production office in Hebron that eventually became a full-service location in 1996.

The new millennium began with the formation of Bruning Bancshares, Inc. as the holding company for Bruning Bank. 

In 2005, the Bank of Broken Bow was created, joining Hebron as the third location of Bruning Bank. 

From 2007 to 2011, Chris Tonniges, grandson of Frank L. Bruning, contributed his experience to the bank to expand the services of our Wealth Management department.

Bruning Bank has expanded into a wider area of Nebraska to better serve our diverse customer base with the addition of the Holdrege location in 2009 and the Kearney location in 2015.

In 2016, the Bank celebrated it's 125th year anniversary. The Bank’s capital was $33,747,000 and assets totaled $341,147,000. The bank staff celebrated this milestone event with a BBQ luncheon and community celebration among customers and friends. 

In 2020, the next generation, Adam Bruning, son of Fred D. Bruning, moved to the Bruning location and continues the family banking tradition. Adam previously worked in Bruning Bank’s Holdrege and Kearney locations before moving back.

In 2023, Bruning Bank expanded once again into a larger and more diverse market by establishing the Grand Island location.