Bank says merger impacts local economy

DAVENPORT - According to Wheatland Bank President Susan Horton, the Bank's merger with Glacier Bank has greatly impacted on the Lincoln County and Eastern Washington economies.

Due to the merger this past year, wealth in the form of dividends to shareholders is being returned to the county, she said.

"This is a joy notifying shareholders of the $7.5 million, part of the closing distributed as dividends to shareholders," Horton said.

She went on to say the big return of wealth and profit for Lincoln County and Eastern Washington was a complete surprise to shareholders and that her team worked hard for customers and the 450 shareholders to make the merger happen.

With the merger, Wheatland Bank is now the fourth largest market share in Eastern Washington. Those who held Wheatland Bank stock now hold shares in Glacier Bank which is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange as GBCI.

Wheatland Bank will remain under that name and operate with autonomy, keeping all employees with no branch closures. The bank has three Lincoln County locations in Davenport, Odessa and Wilbur.

In addition to the merger of Wheatland, Glacier Bank is incorporating North Cascades branches into the Wheatland Division, adding 7 branches and 27,000 customers.

"Combining North Cascades into Wheatland essentially doubles Wheatland's size adding 100 more employees," Horton said.

The Wheatland Board of Directors, with Dennis Bly as Chairman, will remain in place and will add four directors from the North Cascades branches.

Glacier Bank, which is headquartered in Kalispell, Montana, has 75% of its branches in just eight states and are in rural markets. Horton calls Glacier the perfect partner Wheatland partners dreamed of for many years.

"The decision to merge with Glacier was to take care of the long term legacy of Wheatland Bank to serve the community and take care of shareholders who have been with the bank for 45 years," she said.

Besides remaining autonomous, Wheatland shareholders and customers benefit from the merger with access to more resources including lending opportunities. Wheatland had a $14 million lending limit. With the merger, the bank no longer has this restriction.

Wheatland Bank was started in 1979 in Davenport by locals because the big banks were not meeting the needs of the community.

"Glacier Bank was impressed with the quality and strength of Wheatland Bank," Horton said. "We have had zero loan losses which speaks to the character of customers...we stuck together through the ups and down of agriculture and the economy."

A systems transition at Wheatland Banks will place over the weekend of Friday, March 8 through Monday, March 11. Glacier Bank is bringing in state of the art technology for the conversion over the weekend, with 50 to 75 people working almost round the clock to ensure a smooth transition.

Glacier Bank has had a whole floor set up in downtown Spokane for training tellers on the new and improved systems. Branch staff are ready to help customers through the transition and brochures outlining information are available at bank branches.