Hartland-based Town Bank will take over Wisconsin operations
By Ed Nadolski
Editor in Chief
Talmer Bank, which operates 11 branches in Wisconsin, including Burlington, announced this week in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it has agreed to sell its state operations to Town Bank of Hartland.
Town Bank is a wholly owned bank subsidiary of Wintrust Financial Corporation, Rosemont, Ill.
According to the filing dated April 7, Town Bank will assume all of Talmer’s deposits in Wisconsin. As of March 31, 2014, Talmer’s deposits in these markets were approximately $360 million. Talmer will not sell any loans to Town Bank in the transaction.
According to a joint press release accompanying the filing, the local banking offices will continue to be staffed by the current employees and will operate normally through completion of the transaction. Customers do not need to take any action in connection with the transaction. The transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2014, subject to regulatory approval.
“This transaction presents a great opportunity to expand our presence in southern Wisconsin,” Edward J. Wehmer, president and chief executive officer of Wintrust, said in the release. “These locations fill a gap between our Illinois branches and our Town Bank’s Milwaukee area branches.
“Talmer has a great community bank franchise with a team of bankers that are committed to a high level of customer service,” Wehmer added. “We look forward to continuing to build upon that franchise and providing its customers with Wintrust’s full array of products and services. We welcome Talmer’s employees and customers to the Wintrust family.”
The sale of the local branches by Talmer Bancorp, of Troy, Mich., comes just 3-1/2 years after Talmer purchased the assets of the failed First Banking Center from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in November 2010.
Talmer’s CEO said this week the decision was the result of a strategic plan to maximize growth opportunities in Talmer’s primary Michigan market.
“This divestiture is in line with our long-term plans and allows us to focus on our core banking franchise,” David Provost, president and CEO of Talmer Bancorp, said.
Provost also praised the work of Talmer’s Wisconsin employees.
“The employees there have been dedicated and have provided the highest level of customer service,” he said. “We are proud to have Town Bank as the purchaser, as it has a similar strong commitment to customer service and is excited to be able to expand their services in these communities.”
Talmer currently has local branch offices in Burlington, Genoa City, Lake Geneva, Walworth and Wind Lake.
Town Bank has seven offices from Madison to Milwaukee.
Terms outlined
According to the SEC filing: under the terms of the purchase and assumption agreement, Talmer will sell its 11 branch offices to Town Bank for approximately $13.5 million more than the net book value of the assets. The transaction will result in the elimination of approximately $1 million of Talmer’s core deposit intangibles related to the deposits sold.
Talmer expects to incur approximately $1 million in expenses related to the transaction, the filing concluded.
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SOOOOOO glad I got my money out of this place years ago. Know many people who lost tons of money or just plain screwed over by all the changing hands of this “local” bank. I always refer to this place as Talmer Bank or whatever they are calling themselves this week!!!!