SPRINGFIELD, Mo., July 9, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Guaranty Bank President and CEO Shaun Burke announced a major expansion plan that will enhance the bank's presence in the Springfield market. The announcement comes on the heels of Guaranty Bank's third consecutive year of double digit growth on an earnings per share basis.
"This expansion is one of a number of strategic initiatives that will enable us to better serve our customers, grow our market share, and enhance shareholder value," said Burke. "Our retail presence improved with the opening of our eighth full-service facility in Springfield along with three new Loan Production Offices in contiguous markets in 2006, but we have identified several additional opportunities for growth in the area. Guaranty Bank plans to open up to 5 full-service banking facilities in the marketplace in the next 3 to 5 years."
The first two new locations will be in Christian County. Guaranty Bank has a building under contract that is located in Ozark on Hwy. J across from Lambert's Cafe. Remodeling is scheduled to begin in September. "We consistently receive customer comments suggesting that we open a branch in Ozark and we are pleased to finally meet the demand for our services there," said Burke. Guaranty Bank is also finalizing plans for a new full-service facility at Hwy. CC & Main in Nixa to open in the first quarter of 2008. This new facility will be Guaranty Bank's third location in Nixa.
The facility expansion plan is not only designed to provide retail locations for the bank's projected customer growth, but to provide additional office space for its internal growth. "We have been very fortunate to hire several key people in a number of important departments over the last 18 months including commercial lending, mortgage lending, corporate services, and marketing, as well as support personnel," said Burke. "To accommodate these additions, our expansion proposal includes plans to remodel existing Springfield facilities on West Battlefield and North Glenstone. In the first quarter of 2008, we will also move information technology and operations support personnel to a building we have under contract in south Springfield." Additional expansion plan site locations remain undisclosed at this time.
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 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 ATMs nationwide.
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.