Union Bank opens third branch in Lee's Summit

Union Bank on Monday added to the growing number of banks in Lee's Summit, opening its third branch in the city

On June 30, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. counted 40 bank offices in Lee's Summit. This number equates to about one bank for every 2,000 residents. In Johnson County, considered the most competitive banking market in metropolitan area, the ratio is about one bank for every 2,300 residents.

The concentration of banks in Lee's Summit has continued to increase since midyear. In November, the newly established Summit Bank opened.

Jeff Jernigan, Union Bank's CEO, knows Lee's Summit. He's an alumnus of Midland Bank, which in 1998 became part of Commercial Federal Bank. The Omaha-based buyer ranks No. 2 in deposit market share in Lee's Summit.

Jernigan said he wants Union Bank to keep growing in Eastern Jackson County and the Northland. But no new branches have been announced.

Assisting Jernigan will be Kristin Atkinson, who will start work Dec. 5 as the bank's executive vice president and chief financial officer. Atkinson has 20 years of financial services experience.

Union Bank now operates 11 branches, six in Kansas City and the rest in Missouri suburbs of Kansas City. The locally owned bank controlled $661 million of assets on Sept. 30, No. 9 among banks chartered in metropolitan Kansas City, FDIC figures show.

What are people saying about mortgages today:

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March.

Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgages all cut their 30-year mortgage rates to 5.75 percent this week.

Most people think of a mortgage as a means to an end. After all, you buy a house, not a home loan. But a mortgage is much more than the path to homeownership. It is a financial instrument that must be managed, just like any other financial investment.