First Bank takes over Colorado National.

MINNEAPOLIS -- First Bank System Inc. said Friday that it completed its previously announced acquisition of Colorado National Bankshares following approval of its shareholders. Colorado National shareholders approved the acquisition Thursday in Denver.

The Minnesota-based company also said that its lead bank, First Bank National Association, has signed a purchase agreement to acquire Republic Acceptance Corp., a Minneapolis-based commercial finance company with approximately $35 million of assets. The purchase price for the transaction, expected to close this month pending approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, was not disclosed.

Colorado National is the largest independent commercial bank in Colorado, with $2.9 billion of assets, $2.5 billion in deposits, and $270 million in common equity as of the first quarter.

First Bank System said the purchase will make it the largest bank in Colorado, with approximately $8 billion of assets.

In addition, it gained complete ownership of Rocky Mountain BankCard System, which, when combined with First Bank's card business, will be one of the nation's largest commercial banks in merchant processing, with approximately $9 billion of annual transaction volume.

The Minnesota company, with $25 billion of assets, had owned half of Rocky Mountain as part of its 1988 acquisition of Central Bancorp. of Colorado.

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