New ownership, name change in store for Douglas County Bank

One of Lawrence’s larger banks is getting new ownership and a new name.

A deal has been struck for Douglas County Bank to merge with Lee’s Summit, Mo.-based Metcalf Bank, leaders with the two organizations announced on Monday. The name of Douglas County Bank is scheduled to change to Metcalf Bank in early 2015, pending regulatory approval of the merger.

“I think the merger will be a good deal for Douglas County and the bank,” said Pat Slabaugh, president of Douglas County Bank. “I realize it probably will be a shock to some people, but it really will be a benefit to the community. It will allow the bank to spread its wings and get involved in some projects that perhaps we couldn’t have before because of our size.”

The new bank will be significantly larger than Douglas County Bank. The combined entity will have 33 branches in 17 communities ranging from Lawrence in the west to Oak Grove, Mo., in the east. The bank will have about $1.5 billion in assets compared with about $300 million in assets held by Douglas County Bank. The greater asset base is expected to approximately double the bank’s regulatory lending limit, Slabaugh said.

Tom Fitzsimmons, chairman and CEO of Metcalf Bank, said the company was excited about moving into the Lawrence market. Metcalf Bank had eyed expanding into the market previously, but decided against opening a new bank because of the number of financial institutions already operating in Lawrence.

“But we were very excited when Douglas County Bank became available,” Fitzsimmons said. “Its culture is very similar to our culture and how we do banking. Our commitment to the community is the same.”

The deal will end 50 years of ownership by the Beach family, a prominent Kansas family that has interests in natural gas, oil, banking, ranching and other businesses. Ross Beach bought Douglas County Bank in 1964. The bank dates back to 1952, when it was founded in downtown Lawrence and was one of only three banks in the city, according to a history published by Douglas County Bank.

Ross Beach died in 2010, but Beach family interests continue to own the bank, Slabaugh said. He said the decision to sell the bank arose as the family decided how it wanted to structure its business holdings for the future.

“It was a really important decision for them,” Slabaugh said. “They were looking for somebody who had a community focus, and for a bank that maintains the same culture we have.”

Metcalf Bank is part of a much larger organization than Douglas County Bank, but is a family-owned institution, Fitzsimmons said. The bank is owned by Central Bancompany. The bank holding company has been owned for four-generations by the Cook family of Jefferson City, Mo., Central Bancompany has assets of about $10 billion, Fitzsimmons said, and owns more than a dozen banks in Missouri, Kansas, Illinois and Oklahoma.

When the merger is completed, Douglas County Bank customers will have access to 33 branches of Metcalf Bank, which primarily are located in the Kansas City metro area. Bank customers also will be able to use their debit cards without any additional fees at a national network of more than a thousand ATM locations.

Plans call for all of Douglas County Bank’s locations, including the branch in Eudora, to remain open after the merger, Slabaugh said. The company operates seven branches and has about 85 employees. Slabaugh said no decisions had been made on how the banks’ two administrative divisions would be merged.

But Fitzsimmons said Slabaugh, who has been with Douglas County Bank for 31 years, will serve as the company’s community bank president. Lending officers, tellers and other key personnel also will remain with the new bank, Fitzsimmons said. He said making sure the community knows the people it banks with is a priority for the bank.

“We very much believe in the community banking model,” Fitzsimmons said. “We have grown to more than $1 billion, but we have done that without ever losing sight of the idea of community banking.”