Poplar Bluff-based Southern Bank, which on Sept. 1 opened a loan production office in Springfield, has continued a growth pattern by acquiring the assets of Arkansas-based First Southern Bank of Batesville, according to
Arkansasbusiness.com.
First Southern Bank of Batesville was closed Dec. 17 by the Arkansas State Bank Department before Southern acquired its assets.
As of Sept. 30, 2010, First Southern Bank had about $191.8 million in total assets, $155.8 million in total deposits and two branches.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was appointed as receiver and entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Southern Bank to assume all of the deposits of the Batesville bank.
Chartered in 1887 as Poplar Bluff Loan and Building, Southern Bank is a $550 million bank, according to www.bankwithsouthern.com.
The bank (Nasdaq: SMBC), which became a publicly traded company in 1994, had nine locations in southeast and southwest Missouri and five in northeast Arkansas before the acquisition.
When opening in Springfield, Southern lured 35-year financial industry veteran Dave Tooley out of retirement to open the loan production office at 4650 S. National Ave., Ste. C-7, with plans to develop into a full-service bank.
Southern Bank shares were trading at $16.40 as of 9 a.m., compared to a 52-week range of $11.80 to $17.70.[[In-content Ad]]
