By DONNA FARLEY
Associate Editor
The financial institutions that have chosen to call Poplar Bluff home to their corporate headquarters have a history dating back more than 130 years.
Southern Bank was established by depositors in 1887 as Poplar Bluff Loan and Building. With assets of $100,000, it was created to provide financing for customers purchasing homes.
It began to expand outside of Poplar Bluff in 1969. Its first branch was located in Dexter. Southern became a publicly traded stock company in 1994, a move that has helped grow the company, said Mel Jackson, area market president. Consistent positive growth in both loans and deposits, and the ability to acquire other financial institutions, has also been important.
"Southern Bank plans to continue its path of growth in the coming years," Jackson said. "Today, we're proud not only to be among the oldest, but one of the most innovative, as well as we bring banking convenience to a whole new level for our customers."
Sterling Bank also prides itself on a commitment to providing the updated and technology driven platforms its customers enjoy, said CEO Scott Spencer.
Established in 2004, its investors wanted to serve the community and provide a safe place for people to deposit their money, he said. It has since acquired charters that date back to 1904 through mergers.
"Our philosophy is, you provide a nice environment for people to do business, you provide the best professionals for people to do business with, and once they experience those kind of services, they come back and they tell their friends," Spencer said.
Sterling has also taken a unique approach, he said, in that it serves both urban and rural communities.
"Having those diversified activities makes us a lot stronger because we're not tied to any one specific economic cycle," Spencer said.
First Missouri State Bank was chartered in 1912, known at the time as the State Bank of Fisk. It was located in Fisk and did not change to the current name until 1986, under the ownership of Gaylon Lawrence Sr.
"Our customers have given us the opportunity to serve and continue to serve our area for the past 106 years," said Paul Tucker, president of First Missouri State Bank. "Over the last few years, our ownership and staff have been working together to provide our customers with a first-class facility."
First Missouri remains committed to its customers and the growth of the community, he said. The September move to 2910 Barron Road allows staff to better serve the customer base with top tier technology, and offers room to grow, according to Tucker.
As a not-for-profit, Ozark Federal Credit Union operates under different guidelines than the four charter banks. It was started in 1952, with less than $1,000 in assets. The money came from its seven volunteer members. They operated from a volunteer's desks at John J. Pershing VA Medical Center.
"They asked for a chartered credit union to serve the employees of the hospital," said Kirk Mondy, president of Ozark Federal Credit Union. "In 2014, we were granted a different kind of charter, a full community charter. We have six counties now."
The credit union is a financial cooperative with members, whose deposits create the pool of money used for loans. Today, it can serve anyone who lives, works or worships in Butler, Carter, Ripley, Wayne, Dunklin and Stoddard counties.
"We want to give an alternative to people for a banking service," Mondy said. "The members of the credit union control the credit union. They actually vote on the board members and elect them from the membership."
OFCU is the only federally chartered credit union in Missouri to have more than three counties included in its service area.
A new building in Dexter is planned in 2019, along with a significant effort to continue to be involved in the communities it serves, Mondy said.
A group of local businessmen were responsible for the creation of First Midwest Bank in 1964. The family of Joey McLane, president of First Midwest Bank, arrived a year later. His father, Jerry McLane, and grandfather soon began investing in First Midwest and eventually gained majority ownership.
The bank has tried to take a well rounded approach, offering everything from small consumer loans to large commercial loans, McLane said.
He believes the bank's greatest strength lies in its staff.
"We really have had really good people, and a fairly warm and light-hearted culture, which has helped us hire and retain good people," McLane said. "We hope to turn our bank organization over to the next generations of families to be owners. It's not one family. We have partners, other families now. I'm not even sure who those families will be, but we want it to stay a local family bank."