The decision of Central Bank to go public is being praised by retired Landmark Bank chairman Jeff MacLellan, who has studied economic trends in Columbia/Boone County for almost four decades.
Central Bancompany Inc is now listed on the NASDAQ exchange. Maclellan tells 939 the Eagle’s “CEO Roundtable” program that it’s a smart move by Central Bank:
“What they’ve done is they now have access to capital markets. And for a bank to grow you really need, particularly if you’re going to grow quite a bit, you need access to capital markets. And if you look at their performance over time, they’ve always done really well,” he says.
Mr. MacLellan is referring to stock and he expects Central Bank to continue to do well. Central Bank of Boone County is one of the 20th largest employers in Columbia/Boone County.
Jeff MacLellan has studied economic trends in Columbia/Boone County for more than 38 years. During the one-hour interview, he told host Fred Parry that Columbia’s population growth is the biggest factor that has impacted the overall economy since 1987:
“When I came here in 1987, the population was about 67,000. And today it’s somewhere north of 131,000. So the town hasn’t quite doubled but almost. I mean it’s really close,” he says.
MacLellan tells listeners that the University of Missouri is the common denominator with that massive growth. He says Jefferson City’s population was about 30,000 in 1987 and has increased to just 42,000 today.
MacLellan also discusses job growth in the Columbia market. You can listen to Fred’s full interview with former Landmark Bank chairman MacLellan here: