Guaranty Bank shuffles CFO as numbers add up

Chief Operating Officer Carter Peters replaced the retiring Bruce Winston as chief financial officer on Feb. 12. Peters will remain COO.

“The CFO role fits my background really well,” Peters said. “(I’m) definitely excited.”

Peters has been with Guaranty Bank and its Springfield-based holding company, Guaranty Federal Bancshares Inc., since 2005. Before that, he spent two years as CFO for Southern Missouri Bank of Marshfield and 11 years as a certified public accountant for BKD LLP.

“We think it’s obviously an enhancement to our management team,” said Guaranty President and CEO Shaun Burke.

“Our company has changed significantly,” Burke added. “As we’ve gotten bigger and more dynamic, we have enhanced a lot of the managerial positions.”

Guaranty Bank has added nearly a half-dozen managers in the last 90 days, and Peters brings credentials as a CPA to the CFO role, Burke said.

During the last three years, Guaranty Bank has grown to eight from five full-service branches in Springfield and Nixa. It also added loan production offices in West Plains, Mountain Grove and Marshfield, which opened Feb. 1.

Also since 2004, Guaranty Bank increased assets 25 percent to $500 million and experienced between 11 percent and 39 percent annual earnings growth.

Meanwhile, the 58-year-old Winston, who served 15 years as chief accounting officer and CFO, said he’ll consider opportunities to work again but doesn’t have any immediate plans.

“For now, I’m just looking forward to doing some traveling, and going to some ballgames and playing golf – what retired people do,” he said.