[3] In 2007, Equity Bank made its first foray into the Kansas City metropolitan area, opening a location in Lee's Summit, Missouri.

[4] The opening marked Equity's first location in Missouri, making the bank a multi-state operation.

[8] As the decade came to a close, Equity Bank opened two locations in Overland Park, Kansas.

The bank acquired First Community Bancshares and its 14 locations across Kansas and Missouri in late October, raising Equity's total assets to $1.2 billion.

[13] A little more than two years later, Equity Bank merged with First Federal Savings & Loan, expanding in Southeast Kansas.

[17] 2016 - Present Equity Bank expanded rapidly after the IPO in 2015, acquiring Community First Bancshares of Harrison, Arkansas the year after and solidifying their presence in a third state.

[18] The merger was Equity Bank's tenth strategic transaction since the company's inception, and the first since the IPO in November 2015.

The merger gave Equity three more locations in Western Kansas and raised the bank's total assets to $2.3 billion.

[20] Equity was able to expand into Oklahoma that November by closing mergers with Eastman National Bancshares, Inc. of Ponca City, OK, and Cache Holdings, Inc. (Patriot) of Tulsa, OK.

The acquisitions gave Equity 52 full-service bank locations across their company, including nine in Oklahoma.

[30] In October, Equity merged with the parent company of American State Bank & Trust in Wichita, KS.

[33] After the merger, Equity owned and operated 67 locations across Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, and was projected to have around $5.0 billion in assets.

[35] After the purchase, Equity operated 16 banks in Missouri, including five on the Missouri-side of the Kansas City metro.

[1] CEO Brad Elliott saw the company's move to the NYSE as a boon not only for investors, but also for the bank's overall growth.

[39] In July, Equity acquired KansasLand Bancshares and its two locations in Quinter and Americus, Kansas.