A Conversation With ... Mark A. Harrington

Jamie Holstein and I started the bank in 1999. Prior to that, I’d been at Citizens National Bank for about seven years. I became president in January 2004, and CEO in January 2007. (The 1535 W. Sunshine branch) was our original one, and we opened (at 3570 S. National) in 2002. We have 27 full-time-equivalent employees. We have between 35 and 40 shareholders, all local people, except (my) cousin from Kansas City who’s a shareholder. The board of directors runs the affairs of the bank. Our shareholders own a holding company, Jamesmark Bancshares, and Jamesmark owns all of the stock in OMNB. The same board, essentially, controls both of those entities. Our directors are all local people. We’ve got roughly $82 million in assets.

What drew you into banking?

I think it was reading Wall Street Jounal in college for a class, and banking was all over it. Banking and finance is kind of the fuel for the economy. I’m an economics major, so I got interested through the economics department at Missouri State University. When it came time to graduate, I just started looking for jobs at banks. I started at Great Southern Bank right out of college. I went to Farm & Home Savings, which ended up being bought by Roosevelt, which someone else bought (and) Mercantile ended up buying them. I worked at (Mercantile’s) facility in Miller, which is where I went to high school. I went from there to Citizens National Bank.

What interested you in starting a community bank?

I went from Mercantile Bank when there was such a thing, to Citizens National Bank, which was started by two guys, Frank Hilton and David McBeth, and it was the first time I’d been involved in a true community bank. No. l, they had a lot of fun. It’s an exciting thing to start a business, and a bank, maybe more than others. No. 2, it was good for them – it was good for customers, good for shareholders and good for them personally. So I thought if they could do it, maybe I could do it, too. They were good guys, really good mentors.

What’s OMNB’s niche in the banking market?

It’s small commercial businesses and agricultural businesses. Even though we’re here in Springfield, because of connections a couple of us have from previous banks, we’ve got a fair amount of agricultural real estate and ag production (lending), mainly beef cattle loans. I’d say probably 20 percent of our loans are agricultural-based, which is a little different for a bank in Springfield. We also have a niche with Mennonite customers – poultry operations, farming operations, some of the big turkey facilities. We file more deeds of trust in Dade, Lawrence, Polk and Dallas counties.

How do you characterize banking in Springfield?

I would call it highly competitive. When I talk to people from other parts of the country, southwest Missouri and northwest Arkansas are kind of known as a real competitive banking area. The others that you hear about are the Atlanta area and Las Vegas, but we get mentioned along with those areas as being a competitive market. It’s good for consumers when it’s like that, because we’re all out there bidding up for the CD rates ... . It’s a tough market, but bankers are attracted to Springfield because it’s a growing community and it’s vibrant.

So how does OMNB compete for its share of the market?

We do it on a personal level. We expect our lending officers and our new accounts people to have that personal touch. The growth that we get comes from referrals, typically. That only takes you so far, and we’re at a place where we’ve got to decide what our next step is.

Are there any expansion plans on the horizon for OMNB?

We do have some things that are on the drawing board. Not ready to say where, but we’re looking at a possible expansion near Springfield or in a community near Springfield. We’re looking at three or four places right now, but nothing is certain. Another branch might come in, the hiring of additional lending officers, something to move us … as far as getting that next level of customers.

Tell us about your family and what you do outside of work.

My wife’s name is Kristy, and we’ve been married 25 years. We have a daughter, Anna, who’s a sophomore music minor at MSU, and a son, Wil, who’s 16 and a sophomore at Miller High School. They’re good kids. I’m on the board of Miller Christian Church. I spend time with my family, and going to Wil’s ball games ... and Anna’s concerts. I’ve got a big record collection.

Interview by Features Editor Maria Hoover. You can e-mail her with suggestions for future installments of this feature at mhoover@sbj.net.[[In-content Ad]]