Longer hours and larger loans are among the ways one of central-western Kansas’ biggest banks hopes to stand out in the crowded Lawrence banking industry.

Salina-based Sunflower Bank has opened its first Lawrence bank near the intersection of 15th Street and Wakarusa Drive.

The bank that opened a few weeks ago won’t be the company’s last in Lawrence. Glynn Sheridan, president of the bank’s Lawrence operations, said the company planned to add two or three more branches in the next three to five years.

Sheridan said it was part of the bank’s plan to focus on customer accessibility as a way to compete in Lawrence.

“We’re really trying to be more accessible to customers at the times they need us,” Sheridan said.

The bank will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, or about two hours later than typical banking hours. It also is open for eight hours Saturdays, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., about three hours longer than many other banks.

The bank also will be open all holidays except Thanksgiving and Christmas, joining a trend of Lawrence banks forsaking the practice of shutting down on all federal holidays. Peoples Bank earlier this year announced it would be keeping it banks open on four of the 10 federal holidays. Capital City Bank and Capitol Federal Savings also have adopted the practice of keeping at least one of their branch locations open on selected federal holidays.

Sunflower Bank, owned by the Hale family of Salina, has assets of about $1 billion, making it one of the 10 largest Kansas-based banks. Sheridan said the large asset base and the fact all the bank’s decision-makers were based in the state should make it a major player in the city’s commercial lending market.

“What that large asset base does for us is gives us a legal lending limit of about $13 million for any one customer,” Sheridan said. “That’s a pretty significant amount in this town.”

Federal regulations limit the amount a bank can loan a customer based on its assets.

Glynn Sheridan is president of the new Sunflower Bank, 4831 Quail Crest Place. The bank is seeking to differentiate itself from other banks with longer hours and staying open for most holidays, Sheridan said.

Sheridan’s banking experience also is in the commercial lending sector. He previously was a senior vice president overseeing commercial loans at US Bank’s Lawrence locations.

He said the city would benefit from having another major commercial lender to help spur growth.

“Lawrence is a great place to live, but we can’t rest on our laurels,” Sheridan said. “We have to continue to look for more economic growth and more jobs rather than being content to be the bedroom community that we have become.”

Sheridan said the bank had not made any decisions on where it would put its other Lawrence branches, but said downtown would be strongly considered.

The expansions will continue a growth spurt in the Lawrence banking industry. According to the FDIC, Lawrence was the fastest growing bank location in the state in 2002, with a 10.4 percent increase in the number of bank branches. That was well above the statewide average of 1.6 percent. At the end of 2002, Douglas County had 53 bank or bank branches.

Sheridan said Sunflower officials also are actively pursuing expansion into the Topeka and Johnson County markets. He said the company hopes to open a bank in Topeka within 12 months.