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Top-performing community banks have found different ways to provide double-digit returns, despite numerous challenges facing the banking industry.
May 10 -
Baylake Corp. in Sturgeon Bay, Wis., has agreed to buy New Bancshares in Kewaunee, Wis.
May 8 -
The Illinois Department of Financial & Professional Regulation closed the $90 million-asset Edgebrook Bank in Chicago on Friday.
May 8
First Commonwealth Bank in Indiana, Pa., has agreed to buy First Community Bank in Columbus, Ohio.
The $6.3 billion-asset First Commonwealth said in a press release Monday that it will pay about $15 million in cash for the $100 million-asset First Community.
"This partnership enhances our current lending activity in the Columbus market," T. Michael Price, First Commonwealth's chief executive, said in the release. "Entering Columbus has been a strategic priority for us, and this acquisition provides us with an established presence in the market and allows us to serve and expand upon First Community's well-established customer base."
First Commonwealth said it expects to cut about 40% of First Community's expenses. The deal, which should be accretive to First Commonwealth's earnings within a year, is expected to close in the fourth quarter.
