Great Southern opens standalone loan center

Springfield-based Great Southern Bank’s residential lending operations are now housed in a standalone 10,000-square-foot building at 1520 E. Primrose St. The building previously housed Mid-Missouri Mortgage Co.

Great Southern spokeswoman Kelly Polonus said the bank’s residential lending division had outgrown its previous location on the third floor of the bank’s 1451 E. Battlefield Road branch, with 22 employees moving to the new site. The building was purchased for an undisclosed amount from MDB Properties Inc.

Polonus attributed much of the division’s growth to Great Southern’s 2009 Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.-assisted purchases of Team Bank and Vantus Bank.

“We nearly doubled the company in 2009,” Polonus said. “With that came a lot of opportunities and new markets for us, and we still enjoy a lot of opportunity in Springfield and southwest Missouri, too.

"We (moved) in light of the growth that we’ve experienced, but also looking forward to potential growth.”

An open house for the new residential lending building will be held 11 a.m.–2 p.m. April 28 and include tours, Polonus said.

Great Southern (Nasdaq:GSBC) shares were trading at $20.29 as of 11 a.m., compared to a 52-week range of $19.27 to $26.32.[[In-content Ad]]