Denver will serve as the corporate headquarters for two merged banking companies, officials said today.
Kansas-based Sunflower Financial Inc., which has a presence in Colorado, and Texas-based Strategic Growth Bancorp Inc. today announced they are merging.
On a pro forma basis, the combined holding company will be the third largest Colorado headquartered banking institution.
Financial terms of the merger were not disclosed.
Substantial office functions will remain in Salina, Kansas, and New Mexico and Texas.
The transaction will involve a merger of the holding companies and a merger of their respective banking entities, Sunflower Bank NA, First National Bank of Santa Fe, and Capital Bank, SSB, as well as Guardian Mortgage Co. Inc.
The pro forma combined company will have approximately $4 billion in banking assets with approximately $3 billion in both net loans and deposits, creating a super-community bank with a footprint exceeding 60 offices in Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico, and Texas.
The transaction partners two relationship-focused community bank organizations with stable deposit platforms and synergistic lending and fee income strategies.
Mollie Hale Carter, current chairwoman and CEO of Sunflower, will serve as CEO and president of the combined holding company and CEO of the bank.
“We believe we are merging two very special organizations that will have the capital and earnings power to continue to grow and successfully provide our clients with a unique community banking experience,” Carter said.
“We have each invested heavily in our franchises and fee businesses that will benefit from this increased scale,” she said.
Additionally, she will serve as Co-chairwoman of the combined holding company and chairwoman of the bank.
William D. Sanders, current chairman of SGB, will serve as Co-Chairman of the holding company.
The transaction has been unanimously approved by the board of directors of both Sunflower and SGB as well as by the required vote of their respective shareholders. The merger is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017, subject to regulatory approval and other customary conditions.
