Lead Bank in Missouri Plans Charter Switch

Lead Bank in Garden City, Mo., plans to expand the range of services it offers by becoming a state-chartered trust company.

The $85 million-asset state-chartered bank filed an application last month with the State of Missouri Division of Finance to switch charters, the Kansas City Business Journal reported Friday. The switch would allow Lead Bank to provide consulting and M&A services currently offered by affiliate Lead Capital.

Specifically, the charter switch would allow Lead Bank to provide brokerage services for small-business transactions and offer M&A and succession-planning advice to a greater category of businesses, Josh Rowland, the bank's vice chairman, told American Banker. "By bundling these services under the Lead bank umbrella and essentially eliminating the distinction between the bank and Lead Capital, we will be in a better position to deliver advisory solutions to our small-business clients."

Lead Bank changed its name from Garden City Bank in 2010, the same year it founded its advisory and M&A affiliate. The bank also has an angel capital fund and business-incubator affiliate, Lead Ventures, which was founded in 2011.

The bank has two branches in the greater Kansas City, Mo., area.