Virginia National Bank, Charlottesville’s main locally based commercial bank, is planning to purchase a Northern Virginia bank.
The bank has submitted an application with the Comptroller of the Currency to purchase The Fauquier Bank, according to a public notice published in The Daily Progress.
The all-stock deal is valued at about $61.73 million, according to the application. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2021.
The purchase will add 11 branches of Virginia National Bank in Fauquier and Prince William counties and create a combined entity with more than $1.6 billion in assets. The combined company will also have $1.4 billion in total deposits, $1.3 billion and loans and more than $1 billion in assets under management.
Virginia National shareholders have been exploring a sale or merger since at least 2014.
The application says that Virginia National and Fauquier started discussing the merger in summer 2019.
The Fauquier Bank is headquartered in Warrenton.
It was originally chartered in 1902.
Marc Bogan, The Fauquier Bank’s president and CEO, told The Fauquier Times that the coronavirus pandemic and low interest rates pushed the merger forward.
“It is difficult for community banks to grow incrementally and sustainably in the current environment,” he told the newspaper, “This is a unique environment. We felt like we needed to do something to provide incremental and sustainable growth.”
In a joint press release, the banks called the move a “strategic merger of equals” that would “create a premier Virginia financial institution with greater scale, operating leverage and complementary business lines.”
The press release said the merger will accelerate market expansions in Richmond and Northern Virginia.
“It is a rare opportunity to have two well-respected community banks of equal size in attractive markets put their individual missions aside to join forces in order to improve the experience of clients and employees and accelerate the returns of their shareholders,” Glenn W. Rust, president and CEO of Virginia National said in the press release.
Source: www.dailyprogress.com
Be First to Comment