The Landrum Company of Columbia has announced plans to combine the company's three banks - First National Bank & Trust Company in Columbia, First National Bank in Southern Missouri, and Landmark Bank in Oklahoma and Texas.

The combined bank will be called Landmark Bank, and will be headquartered in Columbia. The combination is scheduled for completion next Spring.

"This is a move we have been planning since early this year," CEO Jeff MacLellan said. "It's the logical next step for our growing organization."

MacLellan stressed that the bank will continue to operate much as it does today.

"We will be essentially the same organization we are now, just with a simpler structure," MacLellan said. "Not only will it increase our efficiency and effectiveness to better serve our customers, it will also increase our legal lending limit, which means our customers will have access to the resources of a much larger bank."

The combined bank will have more than $1.3 billion in assets and capital of nearly $100 million. Officials say loan decisions will still be made locally, and that the bankers customers trust and rely on will remain the same.

"We like the name, Landmark Bank," MacLellan said, "since we feel we are already a landmark in Columbia."