Area banks branch out with new locations

by Karen E. Culp

SBJ Staff

Banks are branching out again all over town. Liberty Bank is opening its second location in Springfield after 2 1/2 years in business here, and three other local community banks are adding branches to their banking facilities.

Liberty Bank's first day of business at its new branch at 1605 E. Sunshine was May 19, said Liberty President Gary Metzger.

The bank received regulatory approval to open a branch Feb. 27, but according to the contract the seller of the property, Restaurant Systems Inc. had with the previous owner, Roosevelt and then Mercantile Bank, another bank could not occupy the facility until May 15.

RSI purchased two former Roosevelt Bank buildings in late 1997 and has sold this one to Liberty. The other bank building, on South Campbell, has yet to be occupied, and though Metzger said Liberty could consider using that facility as well, the bank is unlikely to pursue opening another branch too soon after opening this one.

"We really want to concentrate on getting this one going well. We've had a lot of requests for service in that area of town and hope to attract quite a few new customers out there, as well," Metzger said.

Richard Pendleton, owner of RSI, is also on the board of Liberty Bank.

This makes the fourth branch for Liberty; it opened a bank in Greenfield in October of 1997 and has a branch in Mt. Vernon, also.

The new branch will be a full-service bank, Metzger said. Shane Strahl and Sandy Shackelford will make up the branch's management team.

Though Liberty has had to do only a minor amount of remodeling to the building, it has retained Aton Construction as the contractor, Metzger said.

Liberty Bank's total assets are at about $100 million now, Metzger said. At the end of 1996, the bank was at $30 million in assets and at the end of 1997 at $80 million. The bank got started Oct. 27, 1995. Its first location was at 1414 E. Primrose in Springfield.

Signature Bank is planning to open a temporary banking facility in a modular building on East Sunshine, said Signature President David Kunze. The bank is in the process of designing its permanent location, which should open in about nine months, Kunze said.

This will be the first branch for Signature, which opened in Springfield 11 months ago. The bank is already planning a third location at Kansas Expressway and Republic Road, and will begin construction on that facility in about two years, Kunze said.

Though Signature thought it would grow to about $30 million in assets in three years, the bank has instead grown to $57 million in 11 months. In the next 24 months, it expects to have $75 million in assets, Kunze said.

"We've had overwhelming success in Springfield. It's been a very good market for us," Kunze said.

Kunze said he hopes the second location will make banking with Signature more convenient for customers.

"We've had a lot of people tell us they'd like to use us, but we aren't located very conveniently for them. We're hoping this will put us in a good spot for more people," Kunze said.

Kunze said he is expecting regulatory approval of the branch soon, but had not yet received it.

Citizens National Bank is also opening another Springfield location. This will make the bank's third location in town. The new branch will be at 4221 S. Campbell, near the corner of James River Expressway and Campbell, said Frank Hilton, president and chief executive officer of Citizens National.

The building will be about 6,000 square feet and will be a full-service bank, Hilton said. The bank plans to open the new facility in May of 1999.

Citizens National has been around since 1989, beginning with a location on East Sunshine and opening a second location on Glenstone in 1996, Hilton said. The bank is now at $116 million in assets, Hilton added. It opened in 1989 with $2.2 million.

Great Southern has also broken ground for a new branch at 3961 S. Campbell. This will be the bank's ninth location in Springfield, and it will open in September, said Don Gibson, of Great Southern Bank.

All of the bankers agreed that recent mergers in the marketplace have been good for their community banks. The banking climate has been such that growth in a small bank is just as likely as growth in a large bank, Kunze said.

"The banking industry has divided into very large banks and small, community banks. You will continue to have those two groups, and both will continue to expand and grow," Kunze said.

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