First Waterloo Bancshares, Inc. Acquires Prairie National Bank, Stewardson, Illinois
Gary D. Hemmer, President & CEO, First National Bank of Waterloo and its parent company, First Waterloo Bancshares, Inc., announced that the acquisition of Prairie National Bank was completed today.
“This is a very historic day for First Waterloo Bancshares, Inc. as this is the first acquisition ever completed by our organization,” said Hemmer. “Prairie National Bank will remain a separate bank until systems are converted later this year. We have previously worked with Prairie as we have partnered on several loans that were above their legal lending limit. We are excited about the opportunities to work with Prairie and their customers.”
“This is a bittersweet day, as the family ownership of Prairie transfers to First Waterloo Bancshares; however, we are confident we have found a great partner,” said John Richards, President & CEO of Prairie National Bank prior to the transaction closing. “Over the past months we have worked very closely with First National Bank of Waterloo on several projects. It truly is amazing how similar are the philosophies of the two organizations.”
As of December 31, 2014, First National Bank of Waterloo had total assets of approximately $382 million. The bank currently has seven banking centers serving Waterloo, Columbia, Millstadt, and O’Fallon, Illinois. Prairie National Bank had total assets of approximately $52 million as of December 31, 2014. The bank has two banking centers serving central Illinois in Stewardson and Effingham.