Equity Bank plans to make KC area its growth engine – Kansas City Business Journal:

The bank started in 2006 by setting up a loan productionm officein Lee’s Summit, which has been convertex to a full-service branch In 2007, Equity Bank acquired , includingh its locations in Overlans Park and Spring Hill. Last the bank’s holding company, , started raising about $10 millionj for potential acquisitions. Leading Equity Bank’s push in this marke is 40-year banking veteran Jack who was hired in February as its Kansas Cityregionaol president. Sutherland is movinvg into the bank’s new regional headquarters at4551 W. 107thy St.
, near Interstate 435 and Roe “I was hired by Equity Bank to lead theid growth and penetration in the Kansas City market with everygintention that, over time, Kansas City will be growth engine for Equity Bancshares,” Sutherland “The corporate headquarters is still in Wichita, which has our largest concentration of assets right now. We have two branchea in Western Kansas and several in the Kansasx Citymetropolitan market. Out of those Kansas City represents the bestgrowtg opportunities, in our opinion.” Wichita-based Equitt Bank had $380.6 million in assets as of Dec. 31, and Sutherlan d said about one-quarter was from the Kansas City area.
The he said, is for Kansas City to be the sourced of more than half ofthe bank’s Jerry Swords, president of , said the economuy makes it difficult to set new client relationshipsx right now, so it may take time for Equity to grow in the Kansads City area. “Rates are low, and there are a lot of thingsa that are just holdinfg up the ability to find what kind of relationshi you can get from anew customer,” Swordsw said. “But when this market breakz and everyone is out lendint money and people are buyinb stuff andrates normalize, they’ll be in a good They’ll see more growth opportunitie s than usual.
” Swords said Sutherlans is experienced and should be able to figuree out the market. Sutherland ran the Kansas City regiomn of forseven years, untikl it was acquired by in 1997. He later joined as its Kansas Cityregional president, helping it grow from $65 milliom in Kansas City-area assets to $750 million by the time he left in Januarh 2008. “I’ve been with organizations that had a smal l toehold and grewthat position,” Sutherland “Now, I want to do that We’re starting with a small branch network and lookingv to see how we can grow and expand Chuck Stones, president of the , said it has been a tren for the past 10 yearz for banks to expand into new markets in orderr to diversify their portfolios and exposur e to certain markets.
Stones said the key in such a situation is to hire a leaderd familiar with thenew market. “I think they’ve found that person in Jack,” Stones “He is familiar with that market and knows it very Sutherland said that the bank focuses on smalpl to medium businesses and that its particular niche is with medical anddental practices, and lending. “We have specifixc lending niches we arefocused on, so we aren’tg just running out there looking for anyone to do businesw with,” Sutherland said. “Wse focus on our niche and try to target the bestclients there.
” Sutherland said Equityu has money to lend and is not afrai to go after clients of banks that aren’ty lending. “Equity Bank has money to loan, and we want to loan Sutherland said. “When we hear that a successful machines tool businesswith $10 million in salezs can’t get money to expan because their bank telles them it is tapped out, we ask them to move to our They don’t say no.
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