Marshfield Investment Company begins employee ownership

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Marshfield Investment Company has formed an employee stock ownership program. Marshfield Investment is the holding company for Metropolitan National Bank, Bank of Kimberling City and First National Bank of Lamar.|ret||ret||tab|

Dave Tooley, president of Metropolitan National Bank, said there are several reasons why the holding company created the ESOP. |ret||ret||tab|

"Probably the main reason is that it allows us to offer a benefit to all the employees, not just a limited few, that will ensure them some stability going forward," Tooley said.|ret||ret||tab|

"As you know, there have been a lot of mergers and consolidations and all these kinds of things, and this kind of benefit is one that probably solidifies our ability to maintain our own independence for awhile."|ret||ret||tab|

William G. Magers is CEO and the sole owner of Marshfield Investment Company, which is located in Springfield. "The implementation of this plan and the purchase of the stock will allow us to continue to be a major independent force in our marketplace," Magers said at the time the ESOP was announced.|ret||ret||tab|

The banks are essentially purchasing 30 percent of the holding company's outstanding shares for the ESOP, Tooley said.|ret||ret||tab|

"They're held in trust by a third-party trustee for the employees and then as they become eligible and as we go through the process of distributing those shares, our profitability and how we do allows us to distribute those shares on an annual basis." |ret||ret||tab|

According to the Springfield Business Journal's listing of the Springfield Area's Largest Banks & Savings Banks, which appears in this issue, Marshfield Investment Company had total assets of $460 million in 2002, compared to assets of $450 million in 2001. |ret||ret||tab|

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ESOP benefits|ret||ret||tab|

The ESOP can be 20 percent to 25 percent of an individual employee's annual salary, Tooley said. |ret||ret||tab|

And "if any employee gets 20 percent (of their annual salary in the ESOP) then every employee gets 20 percent, which I think is a good part of the program. Everybody's benefit's the same," Tooley added.|ret||ret||tab|

While Magers declined further comment, Tooley described the creation of the ESOP as a "generous" choice on Magers' part, and he said it was a choice he made to plan for the future.|ret||ret||tab|

"He's a great person to work for, and he is approaching retirement age and we're certainly excited that he's made this decision for us because it enables him to draw some of his equity, but it doesn't have to be sold for us to maintain ourselves." |ret||ret||tab|

The ESOP, which is retroactive to one year ago, is open to full-time employees and to part-time employees who work 1,000 hours per year. Tooley said there are about 140 employees now working at the banks eligible for the plan. He believes the ESOP is likely to be a valuable recruiting asset.|ret||ret||tab|

"A lot places, not just banks, certainly have retirement plans, but these kinds of plans, where you can actually become an owner of where you work, are getting to be not as common as they used to be, and it's just a grand opportunity because an employee doesn't have to participate other than if they work here and as they meet the eligibility requirements, they get to be part of the plan," Tooley said.|ret||ret||tab|

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