Deposit report: Bank of Missouri cracks Top 10, Great Southern maintains lead

Tim Scott: Acquisition played key role in The Bank of Missouri's deposit growth.

Joe Turner: Competitive marketplace means better service for customers.

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The past year-plus has seen noticeable growth for The Bank of Missouri, with the company boosting its presence in the Springfield area.

That surge in business was evident this month when the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. released its annual report of market share by deposits held in the metropolitan statistical area comprising Greene, Christian, Webster, Polk and Dallas counties.

The Bank of Missouri jumped 10 spots from 2020 to land at No. 8 on this year’s list. The company’s Springfield MSA deposits as of June 30 were $573.2 million, representing a 3.9% hold of the market share, according to the latest FDIC data.

Tim Scott, regional bank president of southwest Missouri for The Bank of Missouri, said the company’s 2020 acquisition of the Bank of Bolivar was one key to growing deposits.

“Between that time frame and when this report was run, there were depository facilities that were moved into the Springfield market,” Scott said.

Prior to the acquisition, Bank of Bolivar had been the larger of the two institutions in terms of deposits in the Springfield MSA.

Last year, Bank of Bolivar held a 2.3% market share with $310.5 million in MSA deposits as of June 30, 2020. The Bank of Missouri’s market share at the time was 1.8%, with $239.5 million in Springfield MSA deposits, according to the FDIC.

All of those deposits, along with six branches, including two in Springfield, were folded into The Bank of Missouri portfolio upon the closure of the purchase.

Scott said he sees deposit growth as a relationship-building tool for The Bank of Missouri, as those same customers are attractive loan recipients.

“That’s the biggest piece because that’s our revenue generator,” he said of loans. “We try to get most of our deposits to come in without having to pay huge amounts. We try to make it attractive and stay competitive.”

In the FDIC report released this month, Great Southern Bank maintained its lead as the deposit market leader in the Springfield MSA. With 36 institutions represented in the FDIC report, Springfield MSA banks reported an increase of aggregate deposits by nearly 10% to $14.6 billion as of June 30.

At Great Southern, which owned 13.5% of the market as of June 30, President and CEO Joe Turner said the annual deposit report represents a “good snapshot of local market dynamic and the competitive landscape.”

“As revealed in the report, Springfield is fortunate to have so many strong banks ready to serve the financial needs of our community,” Turner said. “Bank customers definitely reap the benefits of this competitive marketplace, as well as the community at large.”

Great Southern held nearly $2 billion in MSA deposits,  according to June 30 FDIC report. Though the Springfield-based bank held its lead over No. 2 Commerce Bank, Great Southern’s MSA deposits dipped from $2.2 billion as of June 30, 2020, when its market share was 16.7%.

Turner said the low interest rate environment impacted the company’s balance sheet, resulting in the lower deposits.

“Approximately $280 million in higher-rate certificate of deposit balances were moved off of our balance sheet during that period,” he said. “We actually experienced nice growth in our core customer checking account balances during this time. Of note, banks across the country experienced rather significant influxes of deposits at different intervals during this time period with the advent of various pandemic-related government stimulus programs.”

At The Bank of Missouri, which is operated by Perryville-based Reliable Community Bancshares Inc., federal government programs also were a factor, Scott said.

He said the Paycheck Protection Program impacted many banks’ liquidity, which resulted in an increase in deposits. The Bank of Missouri additionally is making a big push in the Springfield area to facilitate U.S. Small Business Administration programs, which he said has impacted deposits.

“We’ve got an SBA team that is in the Springfield area that is just phenomenal,” Scott said. “We’ve seen about $10 million get added this year because of their efforts.”

On the deposit market share list, Commerce Bank remained No. 2 with $1.6 billion in deposits, or 11% of the market share, followed by No. 3 Central Bank of the Ozarks, at $1.57 billion, or 10.8%.

No. 4 OakStar Bank, with $1 billion in deposits and a 7.1% share, swapped places  with No. 5 Guaranty Bank, which had $793.1 million, or 5.4% of the market share this year.

U.S. Bank was the only other company to show movement in the Top 10, dropping to No. 9 from No. 8 last year.

As of June 30 this year, U.S. Bank’s Springfield MSA deposits were $535.5 million, representing a 3.7% market share.United Way campaign seeks to spark innovation