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Merrillville-based Centier Bank is in the middle of a growth spurt in the Indianapolis market, with two new standalone branches opened locally in recent months and four additional projects planned within the next year.
Centier hosted a grand opening Wednesday for its newest branch, a 3,800-square-foot office at the intersection of Allisonville Road and 62nd St., at 6210 Allisonville Road.
Another Indianapolis branch is set to open in late spring in a 3,500-square-foot space at the corner of 86th Street and Ditch Road, 1313 W. 86th St.
And a 6,000-square-foot Brownsburg branch, at 1000 E. Main St., is set to open in the fourth quarter.
All three of the branches are in existing buildings that previously served as J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. locations.
Centier entered the Indianapolis market in 2011 when it opened a loan production office in Carmel—a typical first step for a bank testing the waters in a new market. The bank currently has seven branch locations in the market: two in Indianapolis and one each in Carmel, Westfield, Zionsville, Whitestown and Fishers.
Centier CEO Mike Schrage said the pace of expansion is more aggressive than usual right now because the bank put its growth plans on pause during the pandemic.
But the bank has identified Indianapolis as among its target markets for growth, and it expects to continue adding two or three branches a year in the market over the next three to five years.
“It’s just going to be a methodical expansion,” Schrage said.
Centier’s local growth spurt began late last year. In late November, its Whitestown branch, which had previously operated inside a Meijer store, moved to a standalone location at 6378 Crane Dr., near the intersection of Whitestown Parkway and Interstate 65.
Schrage said Centier’s local plans over the next few years include establishing a branch presence on the south side. Centier’s only current south-side presence is a mortgage lending office in Greenwood.
Centier also has a couple of relocations in the works.
In June, the bank will move its Carmel branch from 568 E. Carmel Dr., selling that building and moving into leased space in an office tower at 650 E. Carmel Drive. The bank has secured naming rights to the tower, Schrage said.
Then, early next year, the bank plans to relocate its existing Westfield branch.
Centier’s roots trace to 1895, when Henry Schrage Sr. founded a bank originally called Bank of Whiting. The bank is in its fifth generation of family ownership and has $8.7 billion in assets. Its operating footprint includes nearly 60 branch offices in northwestern and northern Indiana as well as the Indianapolis, Lafayette/West Lafayette and Fort Wayne markets.
Even in the era of online banking, Schrage said Centier believes that it’s important for the bank to have physical locations.
“People still want to know that you have a presence,” he said.
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