Amcore Bank, Rockford, has finalized the sale of its New Glarus and Belleville branches to Union Bank & Trust, Evansville, involving $19 million in loans and $31 million in deposits.

Earlier this month, Amcore completed the sale of its branches in Monroe and Argyle to First National Bank & Trust Co., Beloit, including $70 million in loans, $135 million in deposits and $45 million in trust accounts.

Terms of the transactions were not disclosed.

Amcore is under orders to submit a new plan for raising capital - as well as a plan for the possible sale or merger of the bank - by Dec. 4 after federal regulators rejected Amcore's earlier proposal for shoring up its finances.

Amcore has assets of $4.4 billion and 66 offices in Wisconsin and Illinois, including five in Madison.

In a Nov. 12 letter to Rockford area residents, Amcore chairman and chief executive William McManaman said a tax bill signed into law by President Barack Obama on Nov. 6 changes the way deferred tax assets are handled and should result in a $25 million to $30 million tax refund for the bank. That provision, along with the sale of the four branches, should improve Amcore's financial situation, McManaman wrote.

"I want to assure you, Amcore's leadership team remains relentless in our commitment to continue moving forward. We know how important our role is to the long-term health of this region," McManaman said in the letter.

The anticipated tax refund was not part of the earlier capitalization plan that regulators turned down, an Amcore spokeswoman said.

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