Empire Bank to change name next month

Empire Bank will undergo a name change next month as part of a move by parent company Central Bancompany to bring all of its holdings under the same banner.

Effective June 12, Empire will become Central Bank of the Ozarks, said Andrew Tasset, vice president and marketing manager for the Springfield-based 21-branch system that employs 340.

All 13 individual bank companies owned by Central Bancompany will take on the Central Bank name. Branson-based Ozark Mountain Bank, for example, will become Central Bank of Branson, he said.

“We’re changing our names so customers can better identify our affiliate banks,” Tasset said, noting Empire customers will now be able to bank at any of Central Bancompany’s holdings. “Our name change is just that. Nothing else is changing.”

Jefferson City-based Central Bancompany’s banks have a combined 140 branches in Missouri, Kansas, Illinois and Oklahoma with $10 billion in assets. As of May 1, Empire had $1.1 billion in assets and $990 million in deposits, Tasset said.