LYNNWOOD — Bank of the Cascades, which moved into the Snohomish County market this year by purchasing Lynnwood’s Prime Pacific Bank, is now being acquired by a Montana bank.
First Interstate, headquartered in Billings, announced that it was buying Bend, Oregon-based Bank of the Cascades for cash and stock.
“This opportunity is a good fit for us geographically, strategically, financially and culturally. Cascade’s operating philosophy, commitment to community banking and corporate responsibility are similar to ours, allowing for a seamless integration of our two companies,” said Kevin Riley, First Interstate’s president and CEO, in a statement.
Bank of the Cascades CEO Terry Zink said First Interstate is an exceptional banking partner for his company.
“Strategically they intend to grow Cascade’s branch network, as well as our metropolitan commercial banking centers across the Northwest,” Zink said in the statement.
Bank of the Cascades opened a loan center in Seattle last year. Last spring, Bank of the Cascades made a deal to purchase Prime Pacific, which has branches in Lynnwood, Mill Creek and Kenmore. That deal closed in August.
Zink said that the time that it was his bank’s entry into the Seattle-area market: “It’s hard to imagine being a premier Northwest bank and not being in Seattle.”
Bank of the Cascades president Chip Reeves said in a phone interview those plans are still in place.
“What it will probably do for us is actually accelerate some of our expansion plans in Seattle,” said Reeves, noting that the First Interstate will be about four times larger than Bank of the Cascades.
First Interstate also has more consumer programs that it will be able to offer to current and future customers, Reeve said.
First Interstate is paying $589 million for Bank of the Cascades in the deal, which is expected to close by mid-2017. The deal must be approved by regulators and First Interstate and Bank of the Cascades shareholders.
Bank of the Cascades has 50 branches across Oregon, Idaho and Washington. After the acquistion, First Interstate will have about $12.1 billion in assets, $10.1 billion in deposits and $7.6 billion in loans.
First Interstate will also have 131 banking offices stretching from the Rockies to the Pacific Northwest. Four of those offices will be the Puget Sound region.
First Interstate will need to shed about 150 jobs after the merger. Reeves said that most of those positions will go away through attrition. Most of the jobs are in Billings or Bend; none are in the Puget Sound region.
If the name and logo sound familiar, there’s a reason. First Interstate Bancorp was a holding company that was acquired by Wells Fargo in 1996.
What was then known as First Interstate BancSystems, headquartered in Billings, had a franchise agreement with First Interstate Bancorp. After the latter company was purchased by and merged into Wells Fargo, First Interstate BancSystems purchased six banking offices in Montana and Wyoming and obtained an exclusive license to use the “First Interstate” name and logo in Montana, Wyoming and the six neighboring states of Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota.
Reeves said that First Interstate Bank doesn’t have the licensing to use the First Interstate name in Oregon or Washington, so the branches here will keep the Bank of the Cascades name for now.
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