First National Bank comes to Springfield

The former Gringo's building at 1455 W. Battlefield will soon be home to a new bank. First National Bank hopes to occupy the building in about two months, according to Eric Piel, president of First National Bank's Springfield location.

In the meantime, Piel and Senior Vice President Aaron Buerge already have set up a temporary loan production office in the Montclair Center at 3050 S. National Ave.

Piel said First National Bank has its headquarters in Clinton, with sister banks and related facilities in Joplin, Sarcoxie and Grove, Okla.

"We're approved by the Office of the Comptroller of Currency as a branch of the First National Bank of Clinton, so we will work from their capital and their financial resources," Piel said.

Piel said the bank in Joplin had an interest in the Springfield building where the bank's permanent location will be housed, and the Joplin bank helped provide the location.

The bank in Clinton has assets of about $60 million, and Piel said the Springfield branch, which already is processing loans through the Clinton location, will account for its assets, loans and deposits separately.

Buerge's family, which has been in-volved in southwest Missouri's and Oklahoma's banking industries for many years, holds majority ownership of First National Bank operations in Clinton, Joplin and Sarcoxie, and part ownership in the Grove location. The family wanted to establish a community bank facility in Springfield and approached Piel to head the operation.

Piel has been in the banking industry for 29 years. Prior to joining First National Bank, he was vice president of commercial lending for Great Southern Bank. Buerge previously worked as a vice president and lending officer for Grand Lake Bank in Grove which has headquarters in Tulsa.

The main branch on Battlefield will initially have a staff of about six employees, Piel said. Federal Construction is the general contractor for the renovations, and Rick Hardy is the architect.

Piel said because First National Bank is smaller and independent, it can give better service to its customers and clients. Also, he and Buerge have several years of experience in the southwest Missouri banking industry.

First National Bank's Springfield location will focus more on commercial business, Piel said, such as small-business loans, U.S. Small Business Administra-tion-guaranteed loans and commercial real estate loans.

He said the bank also will focus on aircraft financing, which has been a niche of the Clinton location for many years.

"It's kind of a specialized type of loan that requires some real expertise, and we've got that," Piel said. "There are a lot of small-aircraft owners and pilots in this part of the country, and that's one type of loan that we can probably provide on better terms and rates easier than any other financial institutions," he added.