The parent company of First National Bank of Omaha is acquiring Wyoming-based Western States Bank, whose branches include Scottsbluff, Gering, and Bayard.
Terms of the deal announced Monday weren’t released, but the companies said Western States has $542 million in total assets and $486-million in deposits with 10 branches in western Nebraska, northeastern Colorado, and southeastern Wyoming.
First National Chairman and President Clark Lauritzen said the deal allows it to expand with additional communities in Nebraska and Colorado while adding branches in new markets of Laramie and Cheyenne.
Omaha-based First National is much larger than the Laramie-based Western States with nearly 5,000 employees, over $25 billion dollars in assets and almost 100 branches in 7 states.
The current version of Western States Bank was formed in 2016 when Colorado-based Western States and Nebraska-based Valley Bank, both owned by the same company, merged with Wyoming State Bank.