First National Bank in Evansville will change its name and may eventually add an another bank branch in Evansville following its merger with its affiliate, First State Bank of Eldorado, Ill., an executive of the Evansville bank said Wednesday.
First National Bank in Evansville plans to merge operations with First State Bank of Eldorado on Dec. 7, said Van Douglass, president of the First National Bank of Evansville. Both companies are owned by First Eldorado Bancshares, the Eldorado-based bank-holding company.
Both banks will change their names to the First State Bank, Douglass said.
The merger is being done because First Eldorado Bancshares is selling First National Bank of Dana, Ind., which has the charter under which First National Bank of Evansville now operates, Douglass said. Dana is located about 30 miles northwest of Terre Haute. It will become part of a new bank called Indiana Bank Corp.
However, First Eldorado Bancshares will keep Evansville National Bank, merging it with First State Bank of Eldorado, Douglass said.
The Evansville bank was under the Dana bank's charter because, when the Evansville bank was founded in January 2003, there was no reciprocal agreement that allowed an Illinois bank to operate a branch in Indiana, Douglass said. Since then, there has been a reciprocal agreement between the two states.
The Dana bank is being sold for an undisclosed amount. Douglass said some of the capital raised by the sale may be used to make investments in additional branches in Evansville area.
First State Bank of Eldorado has been in continuous operation since 1906. "Being part of the First Eldorado Bancshares group has enabled us to tap into the expertise and resources of a well-established banking organization. Operating as First State Bank, we will have the same great people and service, only a change in name," Douglass said.