Banks merge under ‘bear’ logo

SAN FRANSISCO – As of today, an additional three bank branches in Northern Colorado will don the bear brand.
Bank of the West completed its integration of Commercial Federal Bank, which had offices in Fort Collins, Loveland and Greeley.
BancWest Corp., holding company of Bank of the West, signed a definitive agreement to acquire Commercial Federal Corp. in June. The cash transaction was valued at $1.36 billion – Bank of the West paid $34 for each Commercial Federal share, with a special 50-cent-per-share dividend paid at closing.
Commercial Federal, with $10.2 billion in assets, operated 204 branches in seven states – including 50 in Colorado. In 2004, Commercial Federal posted earnings of $76.4 million.
Bank of the West entered the Northern Colorado market through the 2004 acquisition of Community First National Bank and has made it no secret that it plans to expand through acquisition and branch additions along the Front Range.
Without taking into account the Commercial Federal deal, Bank of the West’s Northern Colorado holdings include two branches in Fort Collins, two in Greeley and one in Berthoud.
Nationally, the San Francisco-based bank acquired has closed 15 acquisitions since 1987 and now operates 681 locations.

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