Midwest BankCentre Files Application for New North City and St. Charles Branches

Locally-owned Midwest BankCentre has filed two applications with the Missouri Division of Finance and the Federal Reserve Bank to open new branches this year in North St. Louis and the City of St. Charles.

In each case, the bank is partnering with a venerable community institution to serve neighborhood residents and businesses with local expertise, local reinvestment of deposits and local decision-making. “Our partnerships with Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church and Lindenwood University are modeled after the mutual success and community gains achieved in partnership with Beyond Housing at our branch in the Pagedale community,” said Midwest BankCentre President and CEO Jim Watson. “Both branches will round out our community presence and continue building on our success in serving St. Louis’ unbanked and underbanked citizens, expressing our theme of ‘rising together.’ We’ll also be able to serve the needs of more millennials with a wide array of technologically-based services.”

Pending required approvals, the first bank branch will open in mid-summer on the Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church campus. Located in the 5500 block of Dr. Martin Luther King Drive at Belt Avenue in the Wells-Goodfellow neighborhood, the 12,000-member congregation is led by Senior Pastor Michael Jones, Ph.D. Under his leadership, Friendly Temple (under the auspices of Robert Fulton Community Development, Inc.) has successfully revitalized much of the area surrounding the church through community-based outreach and neighborhood redevelopment. Since 1996, Friendly Temple has invested more than $100 million in some of St. Louis’ most underserved communities.

“We are pleased to partner with Midwest BankCentre to provide financial services to residents and businesses in the Martin Luther King Corridor, a community that has struggled to regain its prominence and realize its potential,” said Dr. Jones. “This groundbreaking collaboration underscores Friendly Temple’s community focus by empowering Corridor families with financial resources and education, and equipping local retail partners with tools to help them succeed.”

The second proposed branch will be located at 1820 First Capitol Drive in the city of St. Charles, within Lindenwood University’s new University Commons mixed-use development across the street from the main campus. Founded in 1827, Lindenwood University educates about 16,000 students a year in more than 200 degree programs at two campuses, 10 regional centers and extension sites throughout Missouri. Pending a May construction start, Midwest BankCentre anticipates opening later in 2016.

“We are thrilled to welcome Midwest BankCentre to the neighborhood,” said Lindenwood University President Michael D. Shonrock, Ph.D. “The area around our campus is buzzing with quality development, giving a greater level of service and more choices to our students and the community.”

The North St. Louis location will mark the bank’s fifth branch within the City of St. Louis. Its new St. Charles branch will be its second in St. Charles County. Midwest BankCentre plans to expand its 270-member staff by about a dozen additional team members to serve customers at the two new branches.

With total assets exceeding $1.6 billion, Midwest BankCentre is a locally owned community bank providing integrated financial services with expertise in commercial, retail and digital banking; business cash management; mortgage lending; and consumer lending. The bank is a local leader in the St. Louis Regional Unbanked Task Force and its Bank-On Save-Up St. Louis initiative. Since 2001, Midwest BankCentre has consistently achieved the Bauer Financial 5-Star Superior financial rating.