Banking Benchmark: Empire Bank celebrates 50 years

As Empire Bank’s longest-tenured employee, Tucker remembers when checks didn’t have routing numbers. He talks about the days when the intersection of Sunshine and Glenstone – where Empire opened its first bank – marked the southeast corner of town. He recalls when there were only four banks in Springfield, and all of them were downtown.

This was 1956. This was when Empire Bank entered the banking picture in Springfield.

Celebrating its 50th year in business, Empire Bank employees have been reminiscing about the past – with an eye on the future.

Where it began

As development began to increase near Sunshine and Glenstone, Tucker said, two businessmen – John Ramey, the owner of Ramey’s supermarket, and Ray Kelly, who owned the land where Plaza Tower now stands – decided to stake their claim in the budding financial market. They chartered Empire Bank on July 29, 1956, and invited local business owners to buy shares.

“The merchants, on a regular basis, came to the bank and visited,” said Tucker, who was hired as a teller more than 49 years ago. “It was like a meeting place for some of them. They’d come in and sit around and visit a little bit with the other merchants or customers. It was a friendly atmosphere.”

A second location, with drive-through service, opened at the Glen Isle Center in 1964.

In the 1960s, Empire Bank bought one of the first computers in the area and funded its purchase by processing data for other banks at night, said Tucker, who was vice president of operations before “retiring” in 1992. For Tucker, that means leaving work every day at noon.

Evolution of an institution

The bank’s stock changed hands several times, Tucker said, before it was purchased by Jefferson City-based Central Bancompany in 1980. The holding company owns banks throughout Missouri and one in Oklahoma, with assets totaling nearly $7 billion.

Mike Williamson, CEO and chairman of the board since 1980, said that despite the ownership changes, Empire Bank is the oldest bank in Springfield to maintain its original name. Empire now has 14 full-service locations in four counties: Greene, Christian, Polk and Webster.

When Empire Bank was created, Williamson said there were strict federal limits on the types of services banks could provide. Banks also were limited to two locations, which could be no more than 1,000 yards apart.

“The industry has been deregulated,” Williamson said. “There used to be limits on what interest we could charge on loans (and) amounts of interest we could pay on deposits.”

Among the many changes in banking, one sticks out to these bankers: competition.

“There are more banks, and banks have more facilities, and more organizations provide similar services – such as mortgage companies, and small loan companies, and credit card companies, and credit unions. That’s beneficial for the consumer,” Williamson said.

One constant for Empire is employee loyalty.

There are 32 people who have been with the bank for 25 years or more, Williamson said, with a combined 1,002 years of experience. The bank’s newest president, Russ Marquart, is evidence of that loyalty. Marquart has worked at Empire since his college days before working his way up to president in April.

Today’s numbers

As of June 30, 2006, Empire Bank held 500,069 deposit accounts, worth more than $579 million. The bank has 19,880 loans outstanding, worth more than $527 million.

Williamson credits Springfield’s diverse economy for the vibrant lending activity.

He also parallels Springfield’s diversity with the diversity within the bank. Empire Bank offers insurance, investments, trusts and financial management, he said. Customers now have more access than ever before, he said, with online banking and banking by phone.

Empire Bank will continue to expand into budding communities, Williamson said, just as it set out to do 50 years ago.

“This is still a good area to do business in, and it’s a great place to invest the money,” Williamson said. “There are other communities around here that we’d like to get into. Or we’d like to buy some of our competitors.”

President Marquart said a lot of research is done when deciding whether to enter a new market, and whether to build a new bank or purchase an existing location.

“If you go out and buy a bank …… you’re acquiring their facility, and it may or may not be in the best place,” Marquart said. “There are advantages and disadvantages. If you go and put a branch in a new community, it takes time for those people to get accustomed to you. So it takes a little time to build some momentum in that market.”

Jim Brandenburgh, CFO and executive vice president, said Empire Bank already has a large base of clients in the surrounding cities, including people who have moved out of Springfield but maintained their accounts.

The bank owns land in Republic and is committed to opening a branch there.

“Our strategic plan is to have banking services available in Springfield and the outlying bedroom communities,” Brandenburgh said. “You just look at the demographics, and look where growth is, that’s where eventually we will be.”

Empire Bank

Founded: July 29, 1956

Owner: Central Bancompany

Main Location: 1800 S. Glenstone Ave., Springfield, MO 65804

Phone: (417) 881-3100

Fax: (417) 883-1902

Web site: www.empirebank.com

Services: Banking services and retail and commercial insurance, trust and investment management.

2005 Revenues: $44,132,284

Employees: 234

Branches: 14[[In-content Ad]]