WELLINGTON – Even small Wellington can’t escape the long reach of competitive banking.

Both Independent Bank of Kersey and Firstate Bank of Northglenn were laying plans to do business in the town north of Fort Collins. Up until now,

there has been no local bank for Wellington residents.

But figuring there wasn’t enough to go around for both banks, the issue was settled before either arrived in town.

“We came to an agreement, and they were kind enough to decide not to do it,´ said Larry Neuschwanger, president of Independent Bank of Kersey.

“It’s a great one-bank town, but lousy two-bank town,´ said Tim Wiens, president of Firstate Bank of Northglenn. “They convinced us they had been

looking at the market for some time.”

The Northglenn bank will continue to consider other opportunities in Northern Colorado, though, Wiens said. And, in April it opened a

loan-production office in Greeley with a focus on mortgage and construction lending.

The Kersey bank now has purchased land in Wellington at 4100 Harrison Ave., and will locate a temporary modular facility there by early to mid-July

while a permanent facility is being built.

This will be the sixth location for Independent Bank of Kersey. The main office is in Kersey, with branches in Greeley, Wiggins, Fort Lupton and

Platteville.

Construction on the permanent facility will begin immediately with R.K. Yoder of Fort Collins as the general contractor. The branch, which will be

approximately 2,500 square feet, should be done by fall and employ four to six people.

Even though Independent Bank of Kersey, with holdings of $82 million, will have no direct competitors in Wellington, Neuschwanger believes luring

customers could be a battle.

“We have as our competitors essentially every financial institution in Fort Collins,” he said.