Riverview in Wash. to Buy Former Pot Lender

Riverview Bancorp in Vancouver, Wash., has agreed to buy certain assets and liabilities of MBank in Gresham, Ore.

The $932 million-asset Riverview said in press release Thursday that it will pay cash to buy $130 million in loans and $128 million in deposits from Merchants Bancorp.

Riverview said it would pay a 0.5% premium, or $600,000, for the deposits and a 3.25% premium, or $4.1 million, for the loans. MBank has three branches.

Riverview said it expects the deal to be accretive to its earnings in the first full year. The company said it should take less than two years to earn back the deal's dilution to its tangible book value.

Riverview said it plans to cut MBank's noninterest expenses by 40%. The company also expects to incur $900,000 in merger-related charges.

"This is a natural geographic expansion for Riverview, fitting well into our strategy of increasing market share in Oregon," Pat Sheaffer, Riverview's chairman and chief executive, said in the release. "Our two banks have identical missions – to provide our clients with the local, personal service you can only receive from a true community bank."

The $175 million-asset MBank gained notoriety in 2014 when it began banking marijuana-related businesses, citing the opportunity to "meet a need, while at the same time enjoying additional revenue opportunities." A year later, it shuttered the program.

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and Breyer & Associates advised Riverview.

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