The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago has approved the sale of four Amcore Bank branches in Wisconsin in two transactions.

Union Bank & Trust Co.'s purchase of the Amcore branches in New Glarus and Belleville will take effect Nov. 19. The acquisition, originally announced in August, includes about $21 million in loans and $36 million in deposits.

The New Glarus office will stay open and its five employees will keep their jobs. But Amcore's Belleville branch will close Nov. 20 and consolidate with UB&T's Belleville location. Four Amcore employees at the Belleville office are being encouraged to apply for other positions within Amcore, that bank said.

UB&T, a family-run bank based in Evansville, will have branches in Evansville, Brooklyn, Belleville, Oregon and New Glarus, when the sale goes through.

In the other transaction, First National Bank and Trust Co., Beloit, will acquire Amcore branches in Monroe and Argyle, effective Nov. 6. That agreement also was announced in August.

Both of those offices will stay open, giving the Beloit bank company 13 locations, as well as the addition of $140 million in deposits, $70 million in loans and $55 million in trust accounts.

The publicly traded Amcore, with headquarters in Rockford, Ill., will have 15 remaining branches in Wisconsin when the transactions are completed. "The decision to sell these branches is another step in Amcore's strategic efforts to improve profitability and efficiencies as we work to establish the solid foundation to rebuild our company into a successful and sustainable regional community bank," Amcore chairman and chief executive William McManaman said, at the time of the announcements.

Login to post your comment. If you don't have an account, you may register for one.