Liberty Bank ranks No. 1 in SBA lending

For the past three years, Liberty Bank has been the No. 1 U.S. Small Business Administration lender for the Springfield area. According to the Springfield branch of the SBA, in fiscal year 2001, Liberty Bank made 35 SBA loans worth more than $5.9 million.

As an SBA lender, Liberty Bank works closely with the SBA, and assists small businesses that might not otherwise be able to obtain financing.

"Your larger-type corporations will have access to other capital sources. Small- to medium-sized businesses, typically, since so many of those are owned privately by basically an individual or a family, they're limited to various sources of capital," said Gary Metzger, president of Liberty Bank. "They look to a bank, and for some forms of capital, it takes a unique type of financing to assist these companies in their growth and expansion plans.

"Consistently, year in and year out, the largest single employer of workers in America is small- to medium-sized businesses. And our niche that we've established in the market is focused on that industry."

James Combs, manager of the SBA branch office in Springfield, said banks like Liberty have realized they can use SBA loans to help them grow. Banks that participate in SBA lending are able to sell the guaranteed 75 percent to 80 percent portions of the SBA loans on the secondary market, which provides the participating banks with leverage and liquidity.

As a result of shrinking government funding, the SBA has cut staff from 13 employees to eight in the local office. The administration has asked partner banks, such as Liberty Bank, to take on more of the processing procedures and the servicing of the guaranteed loans.

"We consider the banks we work with our primary resource partners," Combs said. But, he noted, the SBA offers guidance to participating banks as needed.

"It's a mutual effort. If the bank has stepped up and shown an interest, we try to help any way we can," Combs said.

Metzger said Liberty Bank has sold guarantee loan portions only sparingly.

"We've been fortunate enough that our deposit base has continued to grow, that we've opted to maintain, for the most part, the guaranteed portion in our own portfolio," Metzger said.

Under Metzger's leadership, the bank, which started in 1995 in a trailer at the corner of Primrose and Fremont, has grown to $380 million in total assets. Of those assets, Liberty Bank has approximately $316 million invested in small-business, residential real estate and consumer loans.

Liberty Bank now has nine branches three in Springfield and one each in the cities of Mt. Vernon, Greenfield, Stockton, El Dorado Springs, Marshfield and Ozark. The Ozark branch is Liberty Bank's newest; in April it moved into its new, permanent facility at the intersection of Highway 65 and CC. Liberty Bank now has a total of 140 employees.

To keep up with demand, Metzger said, Liberty Bank continues to look for other site locations. Future growth of the bank will depend on market opportunities, he said, but Liberty Bank is ready and eager to expand. Of the bank's growth, Metzger said, "If we didn't have the right formula, we wouldn't have grown to our current level of $380 million in 6 1/2 years."