SPRINGFIELD, Mo., Feb. 7, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Guaranty Bank, a subsidiary of Guaranty Federal Bancshares, Inc. (Nasdaq:GFED), announced today that Lance Pearce has joined its Commercial Lending Team as Senior Vice President of Lending for Christian County. Well known in the Nixa commercial development and investment community, Pearce brings a wealth of underwriting knowledge and 15 years of experience to Guaranty Bank.
Commenting on the addition, Shaun A. Burke, President and Chief Executive Officer said, "From a strategic planning standpoint, we have worked diligently on expanding our retail banking services to keep pace with the growth in Greene and particularly Christian County. To this end, we will open a new Ozark location on Hwy. J across from Lambert's Cafe this spring, and a new Nixa location at Hwy. CC & Main this fall.
"Adding Lance to our team supports a complementary strategic goal of building a strong Commercial Lending business that spans all of Southwest Missouri. We expect his skills, experience, and knowledge of Nixa and the surrounding business communities to add to our Commercial Lending capabilities and to continue the progress we have achieved in building this very important division of Guaranty Bank," said Burke.
Prior to joining Guaranty Bank, Pearce was a Vice President of Lending for Peoples Bank in Nixa. He graduated from Southwest Baptist University with a BS in Business Administration; is a graduate of the Lending School through Missouri Bankers Association; and is a retired Engineer Officer with the U.S. Military.
A life-long resident of Christian County, Pearce has also been involved in a number of civic organizations including Home Builders Association, Nixa Chamber of Commerce, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Clever Alumni Association.
About Guaranty Federal Bancshares, Inc.
Guaranty Federal Bancshares, Inc. (Nasdaq:GFED) has a subsidiary corporation offering full banking services. The principal subsidiary, Guaranty Bank, is headquartered in Springfield, Missouri, and has eight full-service branches in Greene and Christian Counties and Loan Production Offices in Wright, Webster and Howell Counties. In addition, Guaranty Bank is a member of the TransFund ATM network which provides its customers surcharge free access to over 80 area ATMs and over 700 ATM's nationwide. For more information visit the Guaranty Bank website: www.gbankmo.com.
The discussion set forth above may contain forward-looking comments. Such comments are based upon the information currently available to management of the Company and management's perception thereof as of the date of this release. Actual results of the Company's operations could materially differ from those forward-looking comments. The differences could be caused by a number of factors or combination of factors including, but not limited to: changes in demand for banking services; changes in portfolio composition; changes in management strategy; increased competition from both bank and non-bank companies; changes in the general level of interest rates; the effect of regulatory or government legislative changes; technology changes; and fluctuation in inflation.