- Key insight: FNBO has leveraged its status as one of the nation's largest family-owned banks to acquire other similarly-structured institutions.
- Forward look: Acquiring Blue Ridge Bancshares would make FNBO the fifth-largest deposit holder in the Kansas City metropolitan statistical area, holding a 3.6% deposit share.
- Expert quote: "We're a big believer in this market, and we intend to invest more here in the years ahead." — Clark Lauritzen
First National Bank of Omaha is acquiring its second Kansas City-area bank in less than a year.
The Omaha, Nebraska-based company, which does business as FNBO, announced plans Tuesday to purchase the $882 million-asset Blue Ridge Bancshares in Independence, Missouri, for an undisclosed sum. Independence is Kansas City's largest Missouri suburb.
The deal for Blue Ridge comes a little more than a year after the $35 billion-asset FNBO
Kansas City is growing in size and affluence.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the population of the Kansas City MSA surpassed 2.27 million in 2025, up from 2.19 million in 2020. Meanwhile, the region's median household income expanded by 21% between 2020 and 2024 to $83,460, according to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey.
Clark Lauritzen, FNBO's chairman and president, described Blue Ridge as an excellent sequel to Country Club. "They're just a wonderful franchise … with really high-quality people and a really high-quality customer base. They serve several strong communities and they serve them very well," he told American Banker.
Lauritzen made it clear, moreover, that FNBO plans to continue its push into Kansas City.
"I think the punch line is we are not finished growing in Kansas City," Lauritzen said. "We want to grow our team here. We want to grow our customer base, our capabilities. … We're a big believer in this market and we intend to invest more here in the years ahead."
FNBO expects to complete the Blue Ridge deal before the end of 2026.
Blue Ridge is the holding company for Blue Ridge Bank & Trust, founded in October 1958 by three brothers, William, Robert and Walter Reich. The bank opened the same month the brothers unveiled the Blue Ridge Mall, one of the Midwest's first suburban shopping centers, on a portion of the Reich family's vegetable farm near Independence.
"When you talk about having deep roots in the community, they quite literally have those deep roots," Lauritzen said. "It just shows you they've been there a long time, they know a lot of the families and businesses in that area and have earned a really great reputation."
The eight-branch Blue Ridge — which is still controlled by the Reich family — has been solidly profitable in recent years. In 2025 it reported net income of $10.2 million and a return on assets of 1.22%, up from $9.2 million and 1.15% the previous year, according to the FDIC.
"Our mission has always been to help people acquire the financial resources to realize their dreams, and this opportunity with FNBO only amplifies our ability to do just that," Blue Ridge President and CEO Bill Esry said in a press release.
For his part, Lauritzen described Blue Ridge as having been a tough competitor.
"They were very good at what they did," Lauritzen said. "Their customers were very loyal to them, so the opportunity to serve some of these customers who we've long coveted is special."
FNBO ranks among the nation's largest family-owned banks, and Lauritzen said that status gives it an edge when it comes to negotiating with other family-owned institutions like Blue Ridge and Country Club, which was owned by Kansas City's Thompson family.
"Although it's a transaction, it's a sale, there's a relationship that's ongoing afterward that means their employers and customers are still part of a family-owned bank — albeit one with more resources," Lauritzen said.
"Our vision is to be a private, family-owned bank in perpetuity," Lauritzen said.
FNBO is the bank subsidiary of First National of Nebraska.
