In a significant move of Colorado-based ventures, Greenwood Village-based National Bank Holdings Corp. recently purchased Colorado Springs-based Peoples Bank. The $143 million deal involving both cash and stocks will give National Bank Holdings Corp. a strong foothold in Colorado Springs.
Currently, Peoples Bank is one of the largest mortgage lenders and banks in the Colorado Springs area with assets totaling at around $362 million spread out over six Colorado Springs offices. The transaction must first be approved by state and federal oversight committees, but most expect the proposal to be approved and closed in the fourth quarter of 2017.
The buyout includes a second-affiliated bank in Kansas with assets totaling $490 million in twelve locations in Kansas and New Mexico. According to reports, the Kansas bank will have to either sell or shut down its mortgage-based businesses by the end of the year.
Both National Bank Holdings Corp and Peoples Bank appeared excited about the move and sent out a press release stating:
“The transaction with Peoples bolsters our presence in our home markets of the Colorado Front Range and the greater Kansas City region. More specifically, the acquisition provides a strong market position in the attractive Colorado Springs and Overland Park markets and expands our franchise into northern New Mexico,” Tim Laney, CEO of National Bank Holdings, said in the release. “Also, we believe Peoples brings us one of the strongest retail mortgage banking platforms within a community bank.”
National Bank Holdings will operate Peoples Bank under the new name Community Banks of Colorado. The CEO of Peoples Bank will remain with National Bank Holdings to oversee the Colorado locations. National Bank Holdings expects to see a 12% cut in spending due to the merger, but those cuts don’t currently include any layoffs.
The merger of the two banks is a match made in heaven for some analysts and CEO of National Bank Holdings Tim Laney is especially excited about the merger. “The transaction with Peoples bolsters our presence in our home markets of the Colorado Front Range and the greater Kansas City region. More specifically, the acquisition provides a strong market position in the attractive Colorado Springs and Overland Park markets and expands our franchise into northern New Mexico,” said Laney in a statement.
