Virginia Financial Group Inc. in Culpeper is merging two of its separately branded banks into one to improve efficiency.
The $1.6 billion-asset company announced late Monday that Second Bank and Trust in Culpeper and Virginia Heartland Bank in Fredericksburg would combine under the Second Bank and Trust name. The bank would have $715 million of assets and 15 branches. The merger is expected to be completed in February.
Virginia Financial's third and largest bank subsidiary, the $842 million-asset Planters Bank in Staunton, is to keep that name.
O.R. Barham Jr., the president and chief executive, said in a press release, "This reorganization will enable us to operate more effectively and efficiently in the face of increased regulatory and competitive pressures."
Virginia Financial reported an efficiency ratio of 59% through the first six months of 2006. The average for commercial banks with assets of $1 billion to $10 billion is about 55.6%, according to Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. data.
