By the Numbers The region's banking scene has evolved over the last two centuries. By Liese Hutchison Above: August Chouteau reads the charter of the first bank in the Missouri Territory from the front porch of his mansion. (From left to right): prominent citizens of St. Louis and members of the Bank Commission: Jean Baptiste Charles Lucas; Dr. Bernard Gaines Farrar; Rufas Easton, title examiner and first Post Master; Samuel Hammond, First Civil and Military Commandant of the district of St. Louis; and standing next to Chouteau, Manuel Lisa, fur trader and explorer. To the right of Choteau is: Moses Austin, real estate and land agent; Bernard Pratte, fur trader: Bartholomew Berthold, fur trader; William Clark, Governor; and on the far right, William C. Carr. The artist is Mort Kunstler. Two important acts helped shape the region's banking industry: the Banking Act of 1863 that led to the formation of many area banks and the Interstate Bank Act of 1995 that allowed banks outside of the State of Missouri to purchase banks within the state. Bank powerhouses and St. Louis landmarks formed more than 100 years ago because of the first act --Mercantile Bank, Boatmen's Bank and First National Bank of St. Louis--no longer exist because of the second act. "Banks are going to continue to buy each other," notes Tim Willi, a bank analyst with A.G. Edwards. "However, no other big banks are going to be bought any time soon especially since the two largest are already bought." Mercantile, the region's largest bank headquartered in St. Louis, officially became Firstar on April 1. Boatmen's Bank is now part of Bank of America. Here's a look at some of our region's banking facts: Largest bank headquartered outside St. Louis: Firstar Largest bank headquartered within the region: First Bank Smallest bank headquartered outside St. Louis: Associated Bank of Illinois Smallest bank headquartered within the region: Partners Bank of Alton Bank that has kept the same name the longest: Bank of Edwardsville (Jan. 1, 1868) Bank with the newest name: Firstar (April 1, 2000) Newest independent bank: Frontenac Bank, formed (May 1, 1999) Most ATMs in the region: Bank of America with 250 Most banking centers: Bank of America with 82 (includes 18 facilities inside Schnuck Markets) Largest presence downtown: Firstar ­ located within the 35-story former Mercantile building First bank chartered in Missouri: Landmark Bank   With the banking consolidation, Willi notes that numerous smaller banks have been started by local bankers wanting to provide personalized services to their customers. But he warns that eventually customers will view the three major banking players with headquarters in Milwaukee (Firstar), Charlotte (Bank of America) and Memphis (Union Planters) as local banks. "A lot of bankers say that now that some of our banks have been bought the outside owners don't understand St. Louis business," Willi states. "That might be the case right now, but five years from now that will be completely irrelevant where a bank is headquartered. Both Firstar and Bank of America are working hard to become part of our community." St. Louis Banking Market Ranked by Deposits* (For Commercial Bank and Thrift Organizations) Name Market Deposit Rank Market Share Firstar Corp. 9,162,512,000 1 27.01 Bank of America Corp. 5,077,214,000 2 14.96 Union Planters Corp. 3,076,653,000 3 9.07 Commerce Bancshares 2,650,873,000 4 7.81 First Banks, Inc. 1,264,581,000 5 3.73 Mississippi Valley Bancshares 1,262,523,000 6 3.72 UMB Financial Corp. 674,505,000 7 1.99 Central Bancompany 567,054,000 8 1.67 Jefferson Heritage Bank 552,798,000 9 1.63 The Banc Ed. Corp. 549,673,000 10 1.62 Associated Bank Corp. 546,646,000 11 1.62 Southside Bancshares Corp. 441,388,000 12 1.30 Stupp Bros., Inc. 425,176,000 13 1.25 Allegiant Bancorp, Inc. 405,591,000 14 1.20 Delta Bancshares Co. 381,984,000 15 1.13 Heartland Bank 374,887,000 16 1.10 Enterbank Holdings, Inc. 369,584,000 17 1.09 Southern Bancshares 311,775,000 18 0.92 First Co Bancorp, Inc. 274,604,000 19 0.81 West Point Bancorp, Inc. 242,085,000 20 0.71 *The St. Louis Banking Market comprises the city of St. Louis; St. Louis, St. Charles and Jefferson Counties, Mo.; plus Calvey and Boles townships in Franklin County, Mo.; Madison, St. Clair and Monroe Counties, Ill.; plus Sugar Creek and Looking Glass townships in Clinton County, Ill.   Deposit data is as of June 30, 1999. Source: The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis This article was written by Liese L. Hutchison, assistant professor in the department of communication at Saint Louis University and a free-lance writer.

June 2000 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Cover Story The Big Leagues PROFILE John Capps President and CEO Plaza Motor Company - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - www.stlrcga.org - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - www.technologygateway.org On the Road Again Merger Boom - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -