Old Missouri Bank was founded in 1999 with initial assets of $4.6 million from 37 local investors and has grown to assets of $135 million, according to President and CEO Mark Harrington.
While Harrington acknowledges that larger banks received a pretty big black eye during the financial crisis, some smaller banks, such as Old Missouri, have continued to grow, largely because of their local ownership and focus.
“We do build relationships with people, and we stand by them when there is adversity and they stand by us,” Harrington said.
As a result, Harrington said the bank achieved 25 percent growth in 2009 and has continued to grow at a clip of about 10 percent a year.
“We also added to our capital and liquidity,” Harrington said. “It’s been a steady growth. We’ve diversified our risk and not outgrown ourselves, and those things left us strong when the bad times hit.”
The bank has two locations – 1535 W. Sunshine St. and 3570 S. National Ave. – and a total of 33 employees.
For now, there are no plans to expand the bank’s physical presence, Harrington said.
“We’re always looking, but there is nothing on the drawing board right now,” he added. “It’s good to be in two locations and not have big overhead.”
That’s not to say, however, that Old Missouri isn’t pursuing additional growth via technology.
Old Missouri offers online banking, including bill payment, for businesses and individuals, according to
BankWiseOnline.com.
Harrington said the bank’s staff is working to expand and promote its mobile banking services, which allow participating customers to check balances, transfer funds and pay bills via their mobile phones.
“It’s apparent that mobile banking is growing faster than online banking did when it was introduced, and we will be a part of that,” Harrington said.
Click here to read more about the 2012 W. Curtis Strube Small Business Award.
