A Missouri software and technology firm is branching into financial services through a tiny northwest Texas bank.
Applied Cellular Technology Inc. is buying a 100% equity stake in Texline State Bank, Texline - its first foray into banking. The purchase of the $8 million-asset bank is designed to let the company market its technology products to bank customers while focusing bank efforts on serving small businesses abandoned by consolidation.
Applied Cellular offers voice and data communications software and tools to integrate software packages, particularly for financial uses.
The small bank had been up for sale since last fall, when it hired Crown Banking of Chicago as an investment broker, said Texline president Robert B. Wagner.
"We really didn't care who we sold it to, and they're the only ones who made a decent offer," Mr. Wagner said.
Applied Cellular hopes to display its wares at the Texline bank and will offer product discounts to the bank's individual and business customers, said Applied president and chief executive Richard J. Sullivan.
"Local banks or branches today are really underutilized assets," he said. "We view a branch more as a store that can offer other services to customers."
The company will also use its existing technology to offer home banking to the small bank's customers.
The one-branch Texline will become a subsidiary of Applied's subsidiary, American Community Trust Financial, which was started this year to handle the parent company's payroll and serve as a vehicle for the company's new strategy of nationwide supercommunity banking.
Officials plan to buy other small banks with less than $20 million of assets in other parts of the country and to focus on Small Business Administration loans and personal service.
Mr. Sullivan said Applied has had talks with about 100 institutions and expects to announce other purchases shortly. The company has a five-year plan to buy 40 to 45 banks.
