The deal will bring Heartland’s total asset value to £10.4bn with 118 full-service banking locations operating across 12 US states

Heartland

Image: Heartland to acquire Rockford Bank. Photo: Courtesy of Adam Radosavljevic/Pixabay.

Illinois Bank & Trust (IB&T), a subsidiary of Heartland Financial USA, has agreed to acquire Rockford Bank and Trust Company (RB&T) from QCR Holdings.

The transaction will include substantially all the assets and liabilities of Rockford Bank.

Established in 2005, RB&T is a full-service community bank with $523m (£433.7m) in total assets, $423m (£351m) of gross loans outstanding, and $453m (£375.6m) of deposits as of 30 June 2019. The bank serves the Rockford market from two full-service banking centres.

Upon closing of the deal, Heartland will have total assets of about $12.6bn (£10.4bn) with 118 full-service banking locations operating across 12 states.

IB&T, the subsidiary of Heartland, had total assets of $853m (£707m), operating across eight full-service banking centres in Rockford and northwestern Illinois.

The deal to create Heartland’s fifth-largest subsidiary

The deal is expected to become Heartland’s fifth-largest bank subsidiary with assets of about $1.3bn (£1.08bn) and 10 banking centres, when fully integrated with RB&T. IB&T will continue to operate under the Illinois Bank & Trust brand.

Heartland executive operating chairman Lynn Fuller said: “We are growing our presence and adding additional scale in the Rockford market, where we have been quite successful.

“Rockford Bank & Trust is an excellent fit for our community banking business model, and we are pleased the Rockford Bank & Trust team will be joining with the Illinois Bank & Trust team to expand and continue our success in the market.”

On completion, IB&T president and CEO Jeffrey Hultman will continue as IB&T’s CEO and RB&T president, while CEO Thomas Budd will become IB&T’s president.

Heartland president and CEO Bruce Lee said: “Rockford Bank & Trust’s two office locations will be a natural fit with the geographic footprint and culture of Illinois Bank & Trust, and we look forward to further building relationships in the Rockford communities.

“We extend a warm welcome to the Rockford Bank & Trust customers and employees to our organization. The leadership teams of the two institutions will be integrally working together to preserve our commitment to a quality customer experience.

“We are very fortunate to be integrating two talented teams of local commercial banking professionals and staff with an excellent knowledge of the Rockford community and the clients they serve.”

The deal, expected to be closed in the fourth quarter of this year, is subject to approval from federal and state bank regulators and customary closing conditions.