First Interstate in Montana buys its naming rights from Wells Fargo

First Interstate BancSystem in Billings, Mont., finally has sole ownership over its corporate brand.

The $9 billion-asset company disclosed in a regulatory filing Thursday that it paid an undisclosed amount of cash to Wells Fargo in San Francisco for all trademarks associated with its name. The deal also included goodwill associated with "First Interstate" and all Wells-owned domain names tied to the brand.

First Interstate had been operating under a licensing agreement – a deal reached after Wells bought First Interstate Bancorp. in Los Angeles in 1996 – to use its name in eight states. The pact, however, did not include Oregon and Washington.

First Interstate is set to enter Oregon and Washington as part of its planned acquisition of Cascade Bancorp in Bend, Ore.

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