FDIC numbers quantify shakeup in market share

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Total federally insured bank deposits in Greene County rose $119 million in 1999, from about $3.21 billion in 1998 to $3.33 billion, a 3.7 percent increase. Recently released data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation also show a shakeup in the share of those deposits held by area banks.|ret||ret||tab|

The data reflect FDIC's most recent figures as of June 30, 1999.|ret||ret||tab|

Commerce Bank reported $550 million in Greene County deposits, representing 16.49 percent of the local market by the FDIC's reckoning.|ret||ret||tab|

Commerce gained $35 million in deposits from 1998 and rose from the third-largest bank in terms of deposits to displace Mercantile Bank, which fell from $539 million in deposits to $480 million in 1999.|ret||ret||tab|

Mercantile's acquisition by Firstar was announced in May 1999 and completed in September. Charles N. Johns, regional president for the Springfield/Branson area since Jan. 18, said because the merger was not complete until September, Mercantile's loss in deposits cannot be attributed to the merger. |ret||ret||tab|

"Some of the loss in deposits was planned, and some wasn't. Deposits are our inventory, so to speak, and deposits cost money. Some of them are more profitable than others," Johns said. "Deposits are a measure of the market-share penetration, but they are not necessarily a measure of performance."|ret||ret||tab|

Bank of America had $463 million in insured deposits as of June 30, 1999, down $55 million from that reported for its corporate predecessor, NationsBank, in 1998. Bank of America was credited in the 1999 report with 13.88 percent of insured deposits in the county.|ret||ret||tab|

Bank of America officials have said in the past that different reporting for its deposits as a national association result in deposits from this area not being credited to the banks here. In addition, accounts now offered to Bank of America customers don't show up in the FDIC's figures.|ret||ret||tab|

"We generate reports internally that we rely on ... we feel like the deposit numbers don't reflect our total customer deposit activity because we have an increasing number of our customers who are shifting their assets from the more traditional FDIC-insured accounts to non-FDIC-insured investment options that allow them a higher rate of interest. This is a trend we've been seeing nationally, as well," said Steve Burch, senior banking executive with Bank of America here. |ret||ret||tab|

In 1996, prior to its mergers with NationsBank and Bank of America, Boatmen's Bank led FDIC's market-share report with $642 million in deposits, or 21.39 percent of the county's insured-deposit accounts.|ret||ret||tab|

Great Southern Bank showed the largest increase in deposits in Greene County, up $56 million from its 1998 level to $420 million in 1999. |ret||ret||tab|

Joe Turner, Great Southern's president and chief executive officer, said this increase in deposits can be attributed in part to general growth in numbers of customers and new business from existing customers, as well as Federal Home Loan Bank Board advances and brokered CDs. |ret||ret||tab|

"We're doing a good job of taking care of our customers' needs, and we're acquiring new customers as well as acquiring additional business from existing customers," Turner said. |ret||ret||tab|

The Bank, surprised its directors with a larger-than-expected increase in deposits in 1999, said Todd Parnell, The Bank's president and CEO. The Bank increased about $51 million in deposits, up from $49.1 million in 1998 to $80.6 million in 1999. |ret||ret||tab|

"This was about 15 percent over our plan for an increase ... I basically attribute it to the market embracing the way we do business, which is personal service-oriented and trying to provide an attractive alternative," Parnell said. |ret||ret||tab|

The insured deposits held by all banks in the county has increased in recent years at a faster clip than the national average. The 1999 data show a 3.7 percent increase in insured deposits here. In 1998, FDIC data for Greene County showed a 6.5 percent increase in deposits from 1997. Nationally, insured deposits have risen by about 2.6 percent a year for the last several years. |ret||ret||tab|

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