As Printed in the The Examiner.
James Dornbrook

A new bank, Summit Bank of Kansas City, will be at Interstate 470 and Douglas Road in Lee's Summit.

Veteran banker Rick Viar will be the president of the new bank, and a group of prominent business leaders from all over Eastern Jackson County will serve on the board of directors. Viar is the former chairman of the Bi-County United Way of Jackson and Cass Counties.

Viar said it took about 34 business days for his group to meet its goal of raising $8 million in initial capital. The bank has more than 100 local shareholders.

Viar said the group filed papers with the Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Missouri Division of Finance at the end of July. The paperwork is now in the review process. Once approved, Summit Bank will be a state-chartered bank, offering loan, deposit and cash-management products. It will focus primarily on providing commercial and personal banking services to individuals or small and medium-sized businesses.

Viar said he is pleased with the location because it allows the bank to provide service throughout all of Eastern Jackson County.

"Clearly, there is a desire to have a locally managed community bank in Eastern Jackson County, as evidenced by the rapid and positive response we experienced during our capital-raising process," Viar said.

Viar hopes to open the new bank this fall.

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