Year in Review: 8. Bank acquisitions reshape Springfield market

SPRINGFIELD, JANUARY—Southwest Missouri banks were in acquisition mode in 2014, and the moves include numerous out-of-state purchases by Great Southern Bank and acquisitions of two Springfield-based banks by out-of-market lenders.

Kicking things off in January, Springfield-based Great Southern Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq: GSBC) entered a definitive agreement to purchase two branches from Boulevard Bank in Neosho, including an absorption of $65 million in deposits and $6 million in loans, for undisclosed terms. In February, the multistate banking company also spread its wings organically, expanding its commercial lending footprint with offices in Tulsa, Okla., and Dallas.

In June, Great Southern entered into an agreement with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to acquire certain loans and other assets and assume all deposits of Moline, Ill.-based Valley Bank.

In October, the bank paid $3.5 million for a 20,000-square-foot former UMB Bank building in Overland Park, Kan., to house its seventh Kansas City-area banking center.

On Feb. 25, Poplar Bluff-based Southern Missouri Bancorp (Nasdaq: SMBC) signed a definitive agreement to purchase Peoples Bank of the Ozarks in a stock-and-cash deal valued at roughly $22.9 million.

Southern Bank assumed roughly $6.5 million in subordinated debt and retired $2.9 million in other debt through the deal. The company gained Peoples Bank’s 10 branches in the area and assumed its assets of $272 million, loans of $191 million and deposits of $230 million. The purchase was finalized Aug. 5.

Pine Bluff, Ark.-based Simmons First National Corp. (Nasdaq: SFNC) also expanded its southwest Missouri presence with the purchase of Springfield-based Liberty Bancshares Inc. Announced May 28, the all-stock transaction was valued at $206.9 million. The 19-year old Liberty Bank held assets of $1.1 billion, loans of $811 million and deposits of $885 million and will continue to operate independently until systems are converted, which is expected in spring 2015.

Simmons First entered the local market in May 2010 after purchasing 14-year-old Southwest Community Bank’s $96.6 million in assets. The Liberty deal represented the fourth acquisition agreement penned by Simmons First since November 2013.[[In-content Ad]]