Illinois bank expands into Quincy

The Farmers Bank of Liberty, Ill., has purchased a building Quincy, Ill., and intends to apply to regulators to establish a branch there.. The bank, which has locations in Liberty, Barry and Payson, Ill., already has relationships with many customers in the Quincy area. "If you look at the growth we have seen at our Liberty office in recent years, much of that was coming from folks living in Quincy, and when they drive past several of our friendly competitors to drive all the way out to Liberty, it tells us that there will always be room for a small, local bank that focuses on helping people, one at a time," said bank President Mark Field.. "This makes perfect sense for our bank to do this," Field said. "Between taking better care of our existing customers who may work and shop in Quincy, and having the bonus of being able to make new friends who would not otherwise drive to Liberty, Barry or Payson to open an account, it just puts us in a very good position, long-term. This is really the last piece of the puzzle for us in this market, geographically.". Ironically, the national economic woes of the past few years very possibly helped to bring this project about, Field said. "We had been keeping our eyes open and our ears to the ground for the past year or so, because the time to buy a prime location like this is not when the economy is boiling rapidly. This building became available at an advantageous price, and it made too much sense to pass up.". The bank will likely install a drive-up ATM right away, while the regulatory application processes, employee selection and training and construction projects continue on well into next year. Field joked that "if the FDIC doesn't approve our branch application, we'll at least have one of the fanciest ATM locations in town!". Field said the $76 million Farmers Bank of Liberty is "a 100 percent locally-owned community bank."