AREA BANK MERGER AND ACQUISITION ACTIVITY
The following are recent acquisition announcements by banks and credit unions operating in the Cincinnati-Dayton market:
• Lebanon-based LCNB Corp. in 2014 closed a deal to acquire Eaton National Bank & Trust Co. and five branch offices in Preble County. This follows a deal closed the year before to acquire First Capital Bankshares Inc., the parent company of Citizens National Bank of Chillicothe.
• Columbus-based Huntington Bancshares Inc. in March 2014 completed its acquisition of Cambridge-based Camco Financial Corp., parent of Advantage Bank, which has branch offices in Mason and larger Cincinnati.
• Cincinnati-based First Financial Bancorp announced in December 2013 plans to acquire two central Ohio banks and enter the Columbus market: The First Bexley Bank, a single-branch bank in the Columbus suburb of Bexley; and Insight Bank, a single-branch bank in the Columbus suburb of Worthington. Then in 2014, plans were announced to acquire a third Columbus-area banking company, Guernsey Bancorp Inc.
• River Valley Credit Union merged in April 2014 with FirstDay Federal Credit Union of Dayton.
• Marietta-based Peoples Bancorp Inc. announced in August 2014 plans to acquire Wilmington-based NB&T Financial Group Inc., the parent company of The National Bank and Trust Co., through a stock and cash merger.
• First Citizens Banc Corp and TCNB Financial Corp. announced in September 2014 that the companies had signed a definitive agreement and plan of merger. First Citizens will acquire TCNB, and its wholly-owned subsidiary, The Citizens National Bank of Southwestern Ohio, in an all-cash transaction subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals. Citizens National currently operates three branches in the Dayton market.
LCNB Corp. announced Monday its third acquisition in as many years of another area community bank, this time BNB Bancorp Inc., the parent holding company of Brookville National Bank.
After announcing in fall 2012 plans to acquire First Capital Bankshares Inc., the parent company of Citizens National Bank of Chillicothe, Warren County-based LCNB closed that $19.6 million deal in 2013.
Then in 2014, LCNB finalized a second $24.75 million deal to acquire five branch offices of Eaton National Bank & Trust Co. in Preble County.
Thanks to the pair of multi-million expansions, LCNB, the parent holding company of LCNB National Bank, has since crossed a milestone growing above $1 billion in assets.
The newest stock and cash deal with Brookville National Bank, valued at approximately $12.6 million, is expected to bring LCNB up to about $1.2 billion in assets.
Brookville National Bank operates two offices in Montgomery County’s Brookville, and has approximately $109 million in assets.
“We are excited about the opportunity to partner with BNB in building a stronger franchise in the Dayton MSA,” said Stephen Wilson, chairman and chief executive officer of LCNB, in a statement. “This acquisition continues our strategy of being an acquirer of choice of attractive banks in and around our core markets.”
The latest acquisition depends on regulatory approval and is expected to close next year.
“We believe we can provide BNB’s customers with a broader array of banking services, including expanded commercial and mortgage lending capabilities,” said Steve Foster, president of LCNB.
LCNB now operates more than 30 offices in the following counties: Butler, Clermont, Clinton, Fayette, Hamilton, Montgomery, Preble, Ross and Warren.
“They fit in our footprint with the Eaton National Bank acquisition,” Foster said. “We also have offices in Oakwood and Centerville. It complements those offices that we already own.”
This year was one of the most active for local bank mergers and acquisitions, says Robert Palmer, president and chief executive officer of Community Bankers Association of Ohio.
Dealmakers are being driven by the costs of complying with federal bank industry regulations, as well as struggling local economies and competition from non-traditional online and out-of-state mortgage lenders and credit card companies, Palmer previously told this newspaper. By his count, there have been 22 community bank mergers in Ohio during the past two years.
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