Equity Bank will continue its run of recent expansion efforts by acquiring three bank locations in St. Joseph, Mo., it announced this week.
The Wichita-based bank announced its intentions as part of a second-quarter earnings report this week. Equity Bancshares, Inc., the bank’s holding company, reported net income of $15.2 million and a $1.03 per diluted share for the quarter.
Equity Bank will acquire the assets and assume the deposits of three Security Bank of Kansas City locations in St. Joseph, located northwest of Kansas City on the Kansas border. The transaction is scheduled to close in the fourth quarter of this year.
"We are pleased with the opportunity to offer Equity Bank products and services to customers in northwest Missouri, and St. Joseph is a great fit within our network," chairman and CEO Brad Elliott said in a statement. "We have been able to grow loans, fee income and our core deposit base effectively in western Missouri with a focus on local community banking, and we believe this approach will serve customers well in our new St. Joseph region."
The move continues a spate of expansion for Equity Bank, which was 11th on the most recent list of Wichita-area banks ranked by consolidated assets. It announced in May the acquisition of American State Bank and Trust Co., which was 19th on the WBJ list.
Elliott said a key to success in the second quarter was growth in the bank’s core deposit customer base.
"Our Equity Bank team had an excellent quarter serving our customers, expanding our delivery channels and adding shareholder value," chairman and CEO Brad Elliott said in a statement. "Exclusive of the Paycheck Protection Program, we organically grew gross loans by $81.8 million, an annualized rate of 14.75%, though the focused efforts of our sales and operational teams."
