FirstMerit Completes Purchase of Citizens Republic

FirstMerit (FMER) in Akron, Ohio, said Friday that it has completed its purchase of Citizens Republic Bancorp in Flint, Mich.

The $912 million deal, which was announced in September, will allow FirstMerit to expand into Michigan and Wisconsin. The combined company will have about $24.5 billion in assets and roughly 400 branches.

FirstMerit, which also operates in Ohio, Illinois and Pennsylvania, had already filled executive posts in its new markets. In January, the company named Sandra Pierce, a former Michigan state executive with RBS Citizens, chairman and chief executive of its Michigan operations. In March, FirstMerit named Kevin Leissring president and chief executive for Wisconsin.

FirstMerit also repaid $350 million to the Treasury Department that Citizens received through the Troubled Asset Relief Program.