Village Financial opens

The breaking news is of veteran financial consultant Nadia Cavner joining The Signature Bank as vice president and board member. (See story on page 1.) But since June 1, Village Bank has operated Village Financial Services, offering nondeposit-related functions for the bank, such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, variable annuities and life insurance.

Stephen Spence was hired to run the division as Village Financial Services senior vice president and manager.

“They were ready for it,” Spence said of Village Bank’s need for a financial services division.

“Traditional bank accounts certainly have their place, but banks need to offer additional services to their clients so that they don’t have to go elsewhere.”

Prior to joining Village Financial Services, Spence spent four years at a major brokerage firm in Wisconsin.

“I was referred to this position because I had experience starting an investment department at a local bank several years ago,” said Spence, who is the sole employee of Village Financial Services.

“We’re pleased to have a person of Steve’s caliber join our organization. We’re confident that Village Financial services will be well received by our clients,” said Village Bank Chairman James Street, in a news release.

Spence declined to disclose the number of Village Financial clients.

“We’re still building a foundation here,” he said, noting that the most popular products among his clients are mutual funds and managed accounts.

However, Spence was quick to emphasize that Village Financial Services is not a product-driven venture, and it is affiliated with Linsco/Private Ledger, a member of NASD/SIPC.

“LPL has no products, so we are purely independent. So anyone that walks in this branch, no matter what they have or what they need, we have the ability to service that account and help them invest in whatever is appropriate for them,” Spence said.

Village Financial Services hopes to attract both private and business clients.“I feel like we can service any size of business, but Springfield is a small-business town and I feel like we can really add value to a small business that, for instance, doesn’t understand what their options are for their own retirement or for their employees,” Spence said. “Or we can offer help with insurance or succession planning.”

While Spence said it would be difficult – and pure speculation – to predict how Village Financial Services will grow in the next few years, he noted that Village Bank has allotted the division three offices for future use at its 2360 E. Sunshine location.

“We hope to eventually add additional licensed financial consultants. We certainly hope to see this department grow as Village Bank has grown,” Spence said.

Founded in 1997, Village Bank has $110 million in total assets, $89 million in total deposits and $93 million in total loans.