K.C. trio plans bank buy

Northwestern Financial Review, Jan 15, 2001

[mergers & acquisitions]

Three Kansas City, Mo., area banking veterans-two with ties to Bannister Bank & Trust-plan to purchase a $40 million community bank in suburban Kansas City. The group, which includes Jeff Jernigan, president and CEO of Bannister Bank & Trust, announced on Nov. 30 plans to buy Clayco State Bank in Claycomo, Mo.

The acquisition should be completed by mid-February. The deal is a personal transaction, and the $250 million Bannister is not involved.

Jernigan and his partners, Mike Balsbaugh and Jeff Kieffer, had worked together at Kansas City's Midland Bank and left about the time its parent, Midland First Financial Corp., was sold in March 1999 to Omaha-based Commercial Federal Corp.

"It's something the three of us wanted to do for quite some time. We had been looking for the opportunity to own our own bank," Jernigan said of the pending purchase.

Jernigan and Balsbaugh, who both work at Bannister Bank, will remain at the institution. Once the acquisition is completed, Balsbaugh-- Bannister's executive vice president-will become chairman of Clayco State Bank, and Jernigan will become the vice chairman. Kieffer will take on the roles of president and CEO of the Claycomo bank.

Clayco State Bank actually was not on the market, said Jernigan, but the acquisition was pulled off through the aid of Kansas City bank consultant Jerry Swords.

A 27-year banking veteran, Jernigan said Clayco State Bank's current CEO, Danny Norris, will be retained. Clayco State Bank was chartered in 1973 and is part of a onebank holding company known as Clayco Bancshares Inc. Once the sale is complete, the new holding company will be Clayco Banc Corp.

Claycomo is a north Kansas City suburb and home of Ford Motor Co.'s Missouri plant.