LITTLE ROCK – Southern Bancorp announced today the opening of a loan production office (LPO) in Olive Branch, Mississippi. The LPO opened Monday, October 21st making it the community development bank’s 48th location in a market area spanning both Arkansas and Mississippi. Southern is very familiar with Olive Branch as it operated a loan production office there previously. The new office is located at 6810 Crumpler Blvd., Suite 200.
“We are happy to be back in Olive Branch and look forward to making a lasting economic impact on the community,” said Southern Bancorp Regional CEO Jeff Frazier. “In an effort to help underserved families and individuals build wealth, Southern provides access to affordable and responsible capital as well as financial development products and services.”
The loan production office will be managed by Corinth, Mississippi native Josh Newsom. Newsom serves as Senior Vice President of Commercial Lending and has worked in the banking and finance industry for more than 12 years. He received his Bachelor of Business Administration from Mississippi State University in 2006 and is a 2017 graduate of the Mississippi School of Banking. He is currently continuing his education at the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University.
Other staff include Bret Blankenship, Vice President of Commercial Lending, Kortney Pressgrove, Senior Lending Assistant and Darian Willis, Credit Analyst. The office is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM.
About Southern Bancorp
Southern Bancorp, Inc., a bank holding company; Southern Bancorp Community Partners, a 501(c)(3) development finance and lending organization; and Southern Bancorp Bank, one of America’s largest rural development banks; were founded in 1986 by a group of business, political and philanthropic leaders who were concerned about the economic decline of rural Arkansas. All three entities are U.S. Treasury certified Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) collectively known as “Southern.” With $1.4 billion in assets, 65,000 customers and 48 locations in Arkansas and Mississippi, Southern invests in people and businesses in rural communities; empowers them to improve their lives; and helps them transform their communities. Southern is a Certified B Corp, Benefit Corporation, and proud member of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values. Learn more about Southern on the web at www.banksouthern.com & www.southernpartners.org.