Amcore Financial Inc. of Rockford, Ill., has found buyers two more of its branches in the state.
Peoples National Bank of Kewanee, Ill., with $156 million of assets, is to buy Amcores Sheffield and Wyanet branches, but announced after agreeing to the deal that it plans to sell the Wyanet branch to $32 million-asset Citizens First State Bank of Walnut.
Kent Siltman, president of Citizens, said Amcore is selling the two branches as one package to minimize costs. Both deals are expected to close in the second quarter.
Amcore had set a goal of selling seven Illinois branches with deposits of $192 million by yearend, and now has deals for six of them and remains in negotiations for its Gridley branch.
John R. Hecht, the chief financial officer at $4.2 billion-asset Amcore, said proceeds are to be reinvested along the Interstate 90 corridor between Chicago and Wisconsin, which the company has identified as a high-growth area. New Amcore branches are scheduled to open in the next two months in Rockford, Saint Charles, and Geneva, Ill.
