HomeTrust, Heartland Consolidate Bank Brands

A pair of banking companies announced plans to consolidate their community bank brands.

HomeTrust Bancshares in Asheville, N.C., said in a press release late Tuesday that its seven community banks will carry the HomeTrust brand by the end of this month. The banks included in the rebranding are Tryon Federal Bank, Shelby Savings Bank, Home Savings Bank, Industrial Federal Bank, Rutherford County Bank and Cherryville Federal Bank.

"With all 44 locations unified under the HomeTrust brand, it will be easier for our customers to identify our extensive network of offices available to serve their financial needs," Dana Stonestreet, HomeTrust's chairman and chief executive, said in a press release.

The rebranding comes just a month after HomeTrust settled a legal battle with the $417 million-asset HomeTown Bank in Roanoke, Va., over whether the banks' similar-sounding names would confuse customers in western Virginia.

The $2.1 billion-asset HomeTrust has expanded rapidly in recent months throughout the Southeast, adding locations in Tennessee, Virginia and North Carolina.

Separately, Heartland Financial in Dubuque, Iowa, said it would rebrand its two Illinois community banks as Illinois Bank and Trust.

The $5.9 billion-asset company said the rebranding effort — which consolidates the names of Riverside Community Bank and Gelena State Bank — will be complete early next year.

"As the banking industry has experienced continued consolidation, it has been Heartland's goal to operate one bank charter per state to better serve our customers and expand into new market areas," Lynn Fuller, Heartland's CEO, said in press release late Tuesday.

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