First Federal Bank and BNC National Bank have signed a definitive agreement for First Federal to acquire certain assets and liabilities of BNC National Bank’s mortgage division.
The purchase is expected to close in the second quarter of 2023; terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“The board of directors made the decision to exit our nationwide residential mortgage origination business after extensive deliberations and concluding that this change in strategy is in the best long-term interests of the BNC, its shareholders and the communities we serve,” notes BNC National Bank’s chairman, Michael Vekich.
First Federal Bank will continue to originate loans out of existing locations in Georgia, Wisconsin and Florida. As a result of the transaction, First Federal will purchase BNC National Bank’s mortgage business assets and will continue to serve BNC National Bank’s mortgage customers from its existing locations in Overland Park, Kans.; Moline, Illi.; and Bismarck, N.D., locations and in the Phoenix market.
As a community-based mutual institution headquartered in Lake City, Fla., the bank is owned by its customers rather than stockholders and has 25 branches in the Southeast and operations in the Midwest. With the acquisition, First Federal will gain a nationwide consumer direct mortgage platform and will extend the benefits of community banking to the expanded customer base in new markets.
“Our mission is to provide solutions from a financially stable institution that is a great place to work and bank,” says John Medina, president and CEO of First Federal. “This acquisition underscores our commitment to our customers and the residential mortgage sector. We look forward to serving the BNC mortgage customers with the same excellence they came to expect from the BNC team.”
First Federal anticipates retention of substantially all employees of the BNC National Bank’s mortgage division team.
First Federal was advised in the transaction by Robert Flowers of Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP. BNC National was advised by Kaplan, Strangis and Kaplan.