Banner Corporation Receives Regulatory Approval for AmericanWest Bank Merger with Banner Bank
September 21 2015 - 8:46PM
Banner Corporation ("Banner"), the holding company for Banner Bank,
previously announced that it had entered into a definitive
agreement pursuant to which AmericanWest's holding company will
merge with and into Banner and AmericanWest Bank will merge with
and into Banner Bank. In connection with the proposed transaction,
Banner has received the written approval of the Federal Reserve
Board. Banner has also received approval from the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Washington Department of
Financial Institutions.
The transaction is expected to close early in the fourth quarter
of 2015, subject to customary closing conditions, and does not
require any further approvals on the part of the shareholders of
either company. At the time of the close, the combined company
will have approximately $9.7 billion in assets and approximately
190 branches across five western states.
About Banner Corporation
Banner Corporation is a $5.2 billion bank holding company
operating two commercial banks in Washington, Oregon and
Idaho. Banner serves the Pacific Northwest region through a
network of 104 branches with a full range of deposit services and
business, commercial real estate, construction, residential,
agricultural and consumer loans. Visit Banner Bank on the Web
at www.bannerbank.com.
About AmericanWest Bank
Based in Spokane, Washington, AmericanWest Bank, with
approximately $4.6 billion in assets, is a business-focused
community bank offering commercial and business banking, mortgage
lending, treasury management products and a full line of consumer
products and services. The bank currently operates 94 branches in
California, Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Utah. Find out more
about AmericanWest Bank at www.awbank.net.
Forward Looking Statements
When used in this press release and in other documents filed
with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission (the
"SEC"), in press releases or other public stockholder
communications, or in oral statements made with the approval of an
authorized executive officer, the words or phrases "believe,"
"will," "will likely result," "may," "shall," "are expected to,"
"will continue," "is anticipated," "estimate," "project," "plans,"
"forecast," "initiative," "objective," "goal," "outlook,"
"priorities," "target," "intend," "evaluate," "pursue," "commence,"
or the negative of any of those words or phrases or similar
expressions are intended to identify "forward-looking statements"
within the meaning of applicable federal securities laws, including
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking
statements, which speak only as of the date such statements are
made. These statements may relate to future financial
performance, strategic plans or objectives, revenues or earnings
projections, or other financial information. By their nature,
these statements are subject to numerous uncertainties that could
cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in
the statements. Statements about the expected timing,
completion and effects of the proposed transactions and all other
statements in this release other than historical facts constitute
forward-looking statements.
Important factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from the results anticipated or projected include, but
are not limited to, the following: (1) expected revenues, cost
savings, synergies and other benefits from the proposed merger of
Banner Bank and AmericanWest Bank ("AmericanWest") might not be
realized within the expected time frames or at all and costs or
difficulties relating to integration matters, including but not
limited to customer and employee retention, might be greater than
expected; (2) the credit risks of lending activities, including
changes in the level and direction of loan delinquencies and
write-offs and changes in estimates of the adequacy of the
allowance for loan losses, which could necessitate additional
provisions for loan losses, resulting both from loans originated
and loans acquired from other financial institutions; (3) results
of examinations by regulatory authorities, including the
possibility that any such regulatory authority may, among other
things, require increases in the allowance for loan losses or
writing down of assets; (4) competitive pressures among depository
institutions; (5) interest rate movements and their impact on
customer behavior and net interest margin; (6) the impact of
repricing and competitors' pricing initiatives on loan and deposit
products; (7) fluctuations in real estate values; (8) the ability
to adapt successfully to technological changes to meet customers'
needs and developments in the market place; (9) the ability to
access cost-effective funding; (10) changes in financial markets;
(11) changes in economic conditions in general and in Washington,
Idaho, Oregon and California in particular; (12) the costs, effects
and outcomes of litigation; (13) new legislation or regulatory
changes, including but not limited to the Dodd-Frank Act and
regulations adopted thereunder, changes in capital requirements
pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act and the implementation of the Basel
III capital standards, other governmental initiatives affecting the
financial services industry and changes in federal and/or state tax
laws or interpretations thereof by taxing authorities; (14) changes
in accounting principles, policies or guidelines; (15) future
acquisitions by Banner or AmericanWest of other depository
institutions or lines of business; (16) and future goodwill
impairment due to changes in Banner's business, changes in market
conditions, or other factors.
Banner does not undertake any obligation to update any
forward-looking statement to reflect circumstances or events that
occur after the date on which the forward-looking statement is made
except where expressly required by law.
CONTACT: MARK J. GRESCOVICH,
PRESIDENT & CEO
LLOYD W. BAKER, CFO
(509) 527-3636
KELLY MCPHEE
VP, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS &
PUBLIC RELATIONS
(509) 991-0575
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