Morrill Bankshares Inc. of Merriam, Kan., is getting out of the Texas banking market and the family-owned Austin Bank of Jacksonville, Tex., is entering new markets in the first bank acquisition deal in Texas announced this quarter.
The $805 million-asset Austin Bank, a subsidiary of JSA Family Ltd., would enter Gladewater and Kilgore and expand in Longview by acquiring the $173 million-asset City National Bank in Kilgore, said John Williams, the president of Austin Bank.
Gladewater, Kilgore, and Longview are in GreggCounty. It "is a growing county and we want to be a part of that growth," Mr. Williams said in an interview Friday.
City National's holding company is Century Capital Financial Inc. in Kilgore, whose biggest investor is the $763 million-asset Morrill. Century Capital's other investors were looking for new opportunities, said Kurt Saylor, Morrill's chairman and chief executive.
"The decision to sell Century Capital Financial Inc. was to meet shareholders' objectives in other markets," he said Friday.
Morrill also owns the $151 million-asset 1st Bank Oklahoma in Claremore and the $350 million-asset Morrill and Janes Bank and Trust Co. in Merriam.
Mr. Saylor said the deal had nothing to do with the nearly $3.9 million loss City National posted last year.
According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., City National made $457 million in the third quarter.
JSA Family Ltd. is a $1.1 billion-asset, three-bank holding company. The deal was announced Nov. 16 and is expected to close Feb. 19.
