Warren, Ohio-based Second Bancorp Inc. has bought Stouffer-Herzog Insurance, the first of what it says will be several insurance agencies.
The $1.7 billion-asset financial holding company said Wednesday that it had closed on a stock-for-stock acquisition of the Ashtabula, Ohio, agency, which sells life, health, and property/casualty products to individuals and businesses.
"Insurance is a yet another financial product we could provide to our client base," said Christopher Stanitz, an executive vice president and secretary of Second Bancorp. "It's a piece of the business that, once we grow it to a significant size, it will be a significant provider of fee income to us."
Mr. Stanitz said Second Bancorp spent 18 months looking for the right agency to buy and that it plans to buy other small agencies in its market area to create a larger, more efficient operation.
The company's executives have seen that "those banks that have just dabbled in insurance have not been very satisfied with the outcome," Mr. Stanitz said. Instead, Second Bancorp wants to build a sizable operation, he said.
Stouffer-Herzog is now a subsidiary of Second Bancorp. Its president, George E. Stouffer Jr., and executive vice president, William R. Herzog, will remain in those roles.
The deal's price was not disclosed.
Second Bancorp's president and chief executive officer, Rick L. Blossom, said in a statement that his company had been seeking an agency with "long-standing relationships with high-quality insurance carriers … and the experience and commitment to grow this line of business through additional acquisitions."
The banking company offers commercial and consumer banking, wealth management, and insurance and investment products and services in a nine-county area of northeastern and east-central Ohio. Before this deal, it had sold some life insurance and long-term-care products through its investments operation. Mr. Stanitz said he expects these products to be combined with the agency operation.
