U.S. Bank welcomes new Springfield chief

John S. Wilson has left his post with U.S. Bank in the state of Washington to take over as president of the bank’s Springfield region. Wilson, who was announced as the new regional president Nov. 15, replaces Charles Johns, who has stepped down to take a business development position with the bank in Washington, Mo.

“I’m kind of winding down my career is what it amounts to,” said Johns, who has two daughters living in nearby St. Louis.

Wilson has been in the banking business for 28 years, the last eight in Yakima, Wash., a community about half the size of Springfield. He’s been with U.S. Bank for three and a half years.

Wilson said his goal in his new position boils down to one word: growth.

“We want to grow our loans in low double digits and our deposits in high single digits during the coming year,” he said. “I have been, in my career, fairly successful in developing new business, and that’s why I’m here. I really want to take this working unit here forward. I’m very bullish about the future of U.S. (Bank) in this community.”

U.S. Bank holds 6.73 percent of Springfield market share, ranking it fifth in the city, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. That figure is below its state-leading 12.3 percent share. The company also has the largest share of the Joplin market, with 26.24 percent.

Wilson said he hopes the Springfield number improves.

“I think it should be higher than that,” he said. “In my mind, we have to grow at least as fast, if not faster, than the economy in general is growing. So I guess you would say we have to take market share from other competitors. That would be our objective.”

Wilson and his wife have been in Springfield for about six weeks, and he said that he can already tell he’s going to enjoy southwest Missouri.

“I come from a smaller community, and I plan to be very active in Springfield and I’m really looking forward to it,” he said. “I’ve found that this economy is very diverse; it’s vibrant, it’s growing. The people of Springfield have been very warm to me. My wife and I are looking forward to living here and really getting involved in the community.”

According to Wilson and the bank’s Web site, www.usbank.com, U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) is the sixth most valuable bank in the country and the 10th most valuable in the world, based on market capitalization.