Mercantile Bancorp Inc. in Quincy, Ill., has bought a $1.1 million stake in a Denver-area start-up bank.
Solera National Bancorp Inc. of Lakewood, Colo., is expected to open for business this month or early next quarter, the $1.5 billion-asset Mercantile said in a press release Wednesday.
The investment is Mercantile's eighth in a start-up bank. The companies has committed $14 million in those investments.
The strategy has paid off. Last month Mercantile said it would recognize a $2.1 million pretax gain on the sale of its investment in New Frontier Bancshares Inc. of St. Charles, Mo., which was founded in 1999. Last year Mercantile reported a $2.9 million gain on its $1.1 million investment in GBC Bancorp Inc. of Lawrenceville, Ga., which First Charter Corp. in Charlotte later bought.
Overall, Mercantile reported pretax gains of $4.3 million last year from its investments.
