The Bank opens new main branch

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The Bank has a new home, at 3939 S. Fremont, just a short distance from its first location at 1433 E. Republic Road.|ret||ret||tab|

The move allows the 2 1/2-year-old bank to expand its main branch the new location has nearly four times the space of the Republic Road building, and to contemplate serving a new part of town, said Todd Parnell, the bank's president and chief executive officer. |ret||ret||tab|

The Bank will relocate its Republic Road bank to another part of the city.|ret||ret||tab|

"We're approved for three locations, so we'll move the other facility more toward the center of town. We don't know exactly where we'll go at this point; we want to be a Springfield bank, so the location will be one that best serves our customers here," Parnell said.|ret||ret||tab|

The new main bank is in good proximity to James River Freeway and to areas of town that are growing, said Brian Williams, a loan officer with The Bank.|ret||ret||tab|

"We're in the middle of some of the biggest growth in the community right here in this part of town," Williams said.|ret||ret||tab|

That growth is spurred by business development in the area, which is good for The Bank, whose target market is local businesses, Williams said. |ret||ret||tab|

"We market directly to those small business owners, and we hope to gain not only their business, but the business of their employees and their families," Williams said.|ret||ret||tab|

The Bank, now capitalized at $9 million and with assets of $105 million, has exceeded its goals for its first two years of business, said Eugene Everett, chairman of the board of The Bank and longtime Springfield banker.|ret||ret||tab|

"The loyalty and quality of the people we've had working for us and of our shareholders has been what's made us so successful. We've had a group of people join us who have been very willing to help us meet and surpass our goals," Everett said.|ret||ret||tab|

The Bank has a third location at 3333 E. Battlefield Road, Williams said. The Bank employs 28 people and may add more in coming months.|ret||ret||tab|

As far as more expansion is concerned, Williams said the company will let its growth determine whether any more locations will be added.|ret||ret||tab|

"I think it's always been part of our plan to seek new locations as we grow, but right now we're focused on maintaining our core services and strengthening those," Williams said.|ret||ret||tab|

The Bank got its start in 1997, when several changes were taking place in the local banking market. Boatmen's Bank, a regional bank, had merged with a large, national, holding company bank, which resulted in the start-up of several community banks such as The Bank. Everett, who worked for Boatmen's for more than 30 years, said he expects even more mergers in the banking industry.|ret||ret||tab|

"The situation we have right now in Springfield is that we are so well banked that if another competitor were to come in, they would have to take the customers from somewhere else. There will be more mergers, and there may be one or two more start-ups," Everett said.|ret||ret||tab|

The Bank plans to add one new service, Internet banking, in the coming months, but it will mainly stay focused on the services it offers now. |ret||ret||tab|

The new building was completed in December 1999. The architect was Marshall-Waters-Woody Associates and the general contractor was Morelock-Ross Builders.|ret||ret||tab|

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