First Missouri State Bank makes plans for Jackson branch

If a bank is to adequately serve Cape Girardeau County, it's not enough to just have a branch in Cape Girardeau.

It needs a strong presence in Jackson, too.

That's what local First Missouri State Bank executives are saying as they announce that the bank, which hasn't even launched its Cape Girardeau office yet, already has plans for a Jackson branch.

"Since the time we were targeting coming into Cape Girardeau, we were conscientious about our neighbors in Jackson," said executive vice president Jay Knudtson, who is also Cape Girardeau's mayor. "If you're going to serve the entire county, you can't just be in Cape."

First Missouri State Bank, with headquarters in Poplar Bluff, Mo., had planned to open a bank in Jackson within the next few years, Knudtson said, but when they learned that Bank of America was looking to sell its building at 1846 E. Jackson Blvd., they decided to move now. They expect the deal to close Oct. 9, Knudtson said.

Both Knudtson and Steve Taylor, the local First Missouri State Bank president, left executive positions at Bank of America in Cape Girardeau to help start the new bank.

'Just a good idea'

"It's just a good idea," Taylor said of the Jackson branch. "With so many people working in one place and living in the other, to be a full-service bank, we knew it was essential to be in both communities."

The Jackson branch is on a time frame with the Cape Girardeau office -- also a former Bank of America branch on Mount Auburn Road -- and both are tentatively scheduled to open by Nov. 11.

"This deal sends a real message for anybody who was thinking this is just a test run," Knudtson said.

The manager of the Jackson branch will be Judy Sievers, who had been Taylor's assistant at Bank of America. They plan to hire a staff of four to six people for the Jackson office.

Changing hands

Knudtson said that Bank of America may not have known they were selling the building to a competitor. Most often, big banks hire third-party firms to handle the liquidation of property.

"As large as they are, they can't negotiate each contract internally," Knudtson said.

Bank of America spokeswoman Diane Wagner said that two of their branches have closed in the area recently is by no means a signal that they are intentionally down-sizing.

"We're still vibrant in the community," Wagner said. "We still have a bank in Jackson and several in Cape Girardeau. Those locations we closed were just doing low-level volumes and we're making sure we can serve our customers at the locations we have."

Taylor said that the ownership group, which owns other banks in Southeast Missouri, will look at other locations in Southeast Missouri. But right now they are concentrating on getting their two newest locations up and running smoothly.

"Right now, we can't stretch ourselves any thinner and provide the level of customer service we want to," Taylor said.

First Missouri State Bank, with offices in Poplar Bluff, Mo., and Fisk, Mo., has more than $85 million in deposits and assets of $110 million, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The FDIC also has given regulatory approval for both locations to operate.

smoyers@semissourian.com

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