Boatmen's First National Bank of Kansas City doesn't scare community bankers with its plan to target small-business lending - but it may make them hustle a little more.
"It's like anything else - when you're in a race with somebody and they start running faster, you start running faster," said Rick Poccia, president and chief executive of $67 million-asset First Business Bank of Kansas City.
In an article in the Kansas City Business Journal, a Boatmen's officials said the bank plans to focus on small business, an area in which it sees growth. Through different units, Boatmen's will target companies with sales as high as $2 million, companies with sales between $2 million and $10 million, and middle-market business.
However, community bankers in Kansas City, Mo., that have a significant amount of small-business loans concurred that customers who crave more personal service will stick with community banks.
"Our niche is providing personal service," said Robert H. Buckner, president and chief executive of $130 million-asset Country Club Bank. "As long as we are able to provide that, we're going to be able to retain our customers."
Another Way to Cut Costs
Mr. Buckner termed Boatmen's restructuring as "just another way of cutting costs." And as larger banks cut costs, he said, "They are going to be formidable competition to the community banks."
Bankers also said there's plenty of business to go around.
"It's a small-business town here," said Mr. Poccia. "I'm not surprised to hear that Boatmen's would be going toward that market niche."
Nonetheless, William Dana, president and chief executive of $44 million-asset Central Bank of Kansas City, said lenders always want more business.
"It might cause us to do a little more cold calling," Mr. Dana said. "We've been trying to get out there and do it, and maybe this is an incentive."
