Citizens Bank of Kansas is seeking to switch from a national to a state charter.
The Kingman-based bank filed its application to change charters with the Kansas Office of the State Banking Commissioner on Jan. 28. Management was motivated to make the change both by potential cost savings and by what it sees as the changing approach of national regulatory agencies.
"We as senior management felt that the state bank regulators are more in touch with the kinds of issues that we deal with as a rural community bank," executive vice president and general counsel Jane Deterding told American Banker Monday. "Since 2008, we've seen greater attention to the megabanks on the OCC level."
The bank has $226 million of assets and seven branches, all in Kansas. It began as a state-chartered bank, she said, and switched to a national charter in 1994 to take advantage of branching laws.
The bank expects the conversion to be completed in the second quarter, Deterding said.
