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For CrossFirst, the last three years have been filled with perseverance. It spent three years trying to raise capital and 13 months cleaning up a troubled bank before regulators would allow it to merge it with its de novo bank.
September 7
Mercantile Bancorp in Quincy, Ill., has found a buyer for its ailing Kansas bank.
CrossFirst Bank in Leawood, Kan., has agreed to acquire substantially all of the assets and deposits of Mercantile's $110 million-asset Heartland Bank, also based in Leawood, the Kansas City Business Journal reported Monday.
The deal would be the first for the $346 million-asset CrossFirst since it was founded in 2007 and would give it two additional branches in the Kansas City area. A deal price was not disclosed.
The $839 million-asset Mercantile has sold off a number of its banks in recent years in an effort to bolster its capital levels and the company has said that it was exploring additional bank or branch sales in an effort to raise additional capital. http://www.americanbanker.com/bulletins/-1036535-1.html. Both Heartland and Mercantile's Florida bank, Royal Palm Bank in Naples, are significantly undercapitalized.
In a news release, Heartland President Mike Corless said that combining with a bank based in its hometown "makes perfect sense.
"With CrossFirst's capital, fiscal strength and experienced leadership, our customers will be well served," he said.
The sale is expected to close later this quarter or in the third quarter.
