In Brief: First Western to Buy 16 PNC Branches in Pa.

First Western Bancorp said Monday that it has a deal to buy 16 western Pennsylvania branches from Pittsburgh-based PNC Bank Corp.

First Western would buy about $415 million of deposits and $71 million of loans from PNC for about $58 million cash. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the second quarter.

Bruce Whitehair, a vice president for PNC's northwest Pennsylvania region, said the branches are being sold because they did not meet the bank's standards for profitability.

"We strive to maintain a certain market share and create opportunities for revenue growth in every community we are in," he said. "In these cases, we were unable to achieve our goals, so we decided to seek a solution that would favorably impact employees, customers, and the communities involved."

First Western is a $1.7 billion-asset bank holding company with 39 bank branches in six Pennsylvania counties and one in Ohio.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
MORE FROM AMERICAN BANKER