Signature Bank, The Bank branch out as merger nears

|tab|

by Eric Olson|ret||ret||tab|

SBJ Reporter|ret||ret||tab|

eolson@sbj.net|ret||ret||tab|

|ret||ret||tab|

As officials at Signature Bank and The Bank make waves in Springfield's banking market with their July 31 merger, they'll almost simultaneously make a splash in St. Louis' sea of financial players.|ret||ret||tab|

Bank officials have announced a St. Louis-area loan production office to open in Clayton Aug. 2 two days after the merged banks hang The Signature Bank signs outside seven Springfield locations.|ret||ret||tab|

"It is a logical next step for The Signature Bank to grow," said Signature Bank President David Kunze, who will serve as chairman and CEO of the merged bank.|ret||ret||tab|

Officials at both banks say they have considered a loan office outside the area for at least two years. Those talks heated up since announcing the merger in October, even as bank officials put finishes touches on the long-awaited consolidation.|ret||ret||tab|

The loan production office is slated for Clayton, county seat of St. Louis County, where bank officials hope a full-service branch follows in two or three years. St. Louis banking veteran Jim Kratzer has been named president of the office at 10 S. Brentwood Blvd, Ste. 401, in Clayton.|ret||ret||tab|

"It is where most of the business activity takes place. More so than downtown," said Todd Parnell, The Bank's president, who will take on the president and chief operating officer roles at The Signature Bank.|ret||ret||tab|

Kratzer's hiring strengthens some old ties. In the mid-1980s, Parnell was Kratzer's supervisor at Centerre Bank in St. Louis, which was later bought by Boatmen's Bank and then Bank of America. Kunze was president of Centerre Bank's Rolla branch.|ret||ret||tab|

They've known each other for about 25 years, which helped Kratzer make the move. He recently left Allegiant Bank, which in April was bought by National City Bank, where he supervised 14 lenders and managed loans totaling more than $700 million.|ret||ret||tab|

"When you go into a new venture like this, one thing you have to consider is, Do you really know the people?' Knowing Todd and Dave took that out of the equation," Kratzer said in a telephone interview from St. Louis, where he has worked in banking for 25 years. "We all know what each other thinks and what are our loan philosophies are and management philosophies. All that stuff matches up terrifically."|ret||ret||tab|

Patrick Bowen, formerly of Southwest Bank, will work with Kratzer as vice president. The St. Louis team's goal is $50 million in annual loans for the first three years, Kunze said.|ret||ret||tab|

Plans for the St. Louis office are pending Missouri Division of Finance approval. If approved, The Signature Bank would not be the first Springfield-based bank to venture out of the Ozarks.|ret||ret||tab|

Great Southern Bank operates loan production offices in Kansas City, opened in January 2003, and Rogers, Ark., since September.|ret||ret||tab|

"You can hammer this market pretty strong, but if you step out just a little bit you can diversify your existing relationships and your loan portfolio into a couple new markets," said Gary Lewis, Great Southern's vice president of lending.|ret||ret||tab|

While Kunze said The Signature Bank's St. Louis loan office would test the waters for a full-service bank there, Great Southern's approach is less forward.|ret||ret||tab|

"It would only make sense if the client base and the market demanded more of a presence," said Lewis. "There has been no formal discussion along those lines."|ret||ret||tab|

Rather, natural business trends preceded Great Southern's expansion, Lewis said.|ret||ret||tab|

"We had a client base in Kansas City and northwest Arkansas long before we moved to physical locations there," he said. "We felt the need to be able to service those relationships with a little more quality. It's a little hard to refer somebody 200 miles away."|ret||ret||tab|

Despite adding a St. Louis office, Signature Bank's Executive Vice President Rob Fulp is quick to point out the bank's bread and butter remains in southwest Missouri, the fastest-growing region in the state, according to Missouri's Department of Economic Development.|ret||ret||tab|

"We're sitting on a commercial pipeline of $190 million in loans," Fulp said. "That just shows the growth."|ret||ret||tab|

Fulp said that pipeline consists of loans to be booked in the next six months for the combined banks. "This pipeline is there because of the opportunity we have as a merged entity," Fulp added.|ret||ret||tab|

Eyes also are on the Kansas City market for a loan office, Kunze said, all with the goal of reaching $1 billion in assets in five years. Once merged, assets are expected to total more than $600 million.|ret||ret||tab|

Increasing shareholder earnings is ultimately behind these expansion moves, Kunze said.|ret||ret||tab|

[[In-content Ad]]