Great Southern Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq: GSBC), the Springfield-based holding company for Great Southern Bank, recorded third-quarter net income of $6.5 million, a 4.7 percent uptick from earnings of $6.2 million in the same quarter last year.
Earnings per diluted share dropped 5 cents to 33 cents, due to a $1.2 million reduction in earnings available to common shareholders. According to a company news release, the reduction reflected a one-time, noncash charge occurring when the company exited the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Capital Purchase Program and entered into its Small Business Lending Fund program.
Total gross loans were roughly $2 billion in the quarter. The company has seen a rise in multifamily residential mortgage, commercial real estate and commercial business loans, the release said.
As of Sept. 30, total assets were $3.4 billion.
In early October, Great Southern entered into an agreement with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to purchase the assets and assume the deposits of Ellington-based Sun Security Bank, which was shut down Oct. 7 by the Missouri Division of Finance. With the agreement, Great Southern added 27 branches in southern and central Missouri, according to
Springfield Business Journal archives.
“While not a third-quarter event, we’re excited about our Oct. 7, 2011, FDIC-assisted acquisition, representing our third such transaction in two years," Great Southern President and CEO Joseph Turner said in the release. "We believe this acquisition will prove to be a beneficial long-term addition to our franchise, as we have significantly enhanced our presence in the state of Missouri.
"Sun Security Bank had a solid core customer base and a group of quality and customer-focused associates that we’re pleased to welcome to our company."
In the Springfield metropolitan statistical area, Great Southern was dethroned as deposit market share leader by Commerce Bank, according to updated market share rankings released Oct. 4 by the FDIC. As of June 30, Great Southern held 12.37 percent of the market share with $920.7 million in 25 branches in the five-county MSA.
Great Southern still controlled the top spot in the city with 15.85 percent of the deposit market share.
Great Southern operates 103 branches in Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska.
As of 10:58 a.m., Great Southern shares were trading at $19.70, compared to a 52-week range of $15.01 to $24.60.[[In-content Ad]]
