Great Southern Bank Opens Clayton Office

Great Southern Bank has opened its third St. Louis branch, this time in Clayton.

"This is a business epicenter," said market manager Carol Hanson, describing why the bank chose to open a location in the city. She spoke during an interview at a ribbon-cutting hosted June 9 by the .

The branch opened May 2. The company also maintains offices in Creve Coeur and Des Peres.

The bank's commercial lending group in St. Louis has been relocated from Creve Coeur to Clayton, Hanson said. Among other services, the bank works in the areas of business and commercial real estate.

Chief Executive Joe Turner attended the ribbon-cutting. He said Clayton is the central business district in St. Louis, and he said the city's branch, located in Suite 150 at 8235 Forsyth Blvd., is in a nice space.

He described Great Southern as a company that prides itself on autonomy.

"We make our decisions right here locally," Turner said.

Great Southern began in 1923. It opened its first St. Louis location in 2005 but had worked with customers in the area before then, Turner said.

The Springfield, MO,-based company also operates two travel agencies, one in Creve Coeur and another in St. Peters.