BOAMEN'S PLANS BANK IN JACKSON

Boatmen's National Bank of Cape Girardeau will construct a bank building in Jackson, bank President Jim Limbaugh said Wednesday.

Boatmen's received approval for the new facility Tuesday from the federal Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in Kansas City. The agency regulates nationally chartered banks.

The new bank will be built along Highway 61 in Jackson, just east of the Golden Corral steak house.

"We are very excited about becoming an active member of the Jackson community," said Limbaugh.

The one-story, 3,500-square-foot facility, he said, will be a "stand-alone, full-service bank for our Jackson customers." The building will be of masonry construction and feature four drive-in lanes and an automatic teller machine.

Limbaugh said, "We hope to have a formal groundbreaking ceremony the last week of May. We hope to have the building complete and operational by early- to mid-September."

He estimated the whole project will cost about $750,000. The facility will operate with seven to 10 employees.

Limbaugh said the facility will be built so it can be expanded in the future, if warranted.

"We feel our true growth in the market is in Jackson," said Limbaugh, "and this makes it much more convenient for our existing and future customers to do business in Jackson.

"We think there is a great deal of opportunity right now," he added. "We have a large Jacksoncustomer base right now and we hope to expand that."

Said Limbaugh, "We hope to put special emphasis on all facets of lending and, in particular, residential, agricultural, commercial and consumer loans."

The Jackson bank will be the sixth Boatmen's Bank facility in the area. The five existing facilities are in Cape Girardeau.