Pub. 15 2018 Issue 4

Issue 4 • 2018-2019 23 O V E R A C E N T U R Y : B U I L D I N G B E T T E R B A N K S - H E L P I N G N E W M E X I C O R E A L I Z E D R E A M S BANK NEWS BayCom Corp. and Uniti Financial Corp. Announce Definitive Merger Agreement On December 10, the Walnut Creek California-based Baycom Corp. holding company for the United Busi- ness Bank, and the Buena Park California-based Uniti Financial Corp. holding company for Uniti Bank, announced the signing of an agreement and plan of merger. BayCom has agreed to acquire Uniti Financial Corp. in a cash and stock transaction valued at ap- proximately $63.9 million or $3.99 per share, based on the closing price of BayCom common stock of $23.99 on December 7. The closing is expected in the second quarter of 2019. Under the terms of the agreement, Uniti Financial will merge with and into BayCom. The agreement also calls for the merger of Uniti Bank with and into United Busi- ness Bank, which has locations in New Mexico. Upon consummation of the merger, each UIFC shareholder will receive $2.30 in cash and 0.0723 shares of BayCom com- mon stock in exchange for each share of UIFC stock. As of September 30, Uniti Financial Corp. had ap- proximately $343.6 million in assets, $262.4 million in loans, $294.6 million in deposits and $46.6 million in shareholder’s equity. Upon completion of the transac- tion, the combined company will have approximately $1.8 billion in total assets, $1.2 million in total loans and $1.5 billion in total deposits. United Business Bank will have 17 locations in California, two in Washington and six in New Mexico. As of September 30, as adjusted for the Bethlehem Financial Corp. merger that closed on November 30, United Business Bank had total assets of approximately $1.5 billion. Missouri Company to Acquire Los Alamos National Bank A Missouri bank holding company is acquiring the parent company of Los Alamos National Bank in a merger agreement valued at $213 million. Enterprise Financial Services Corp. of Clayton , Mis- souri, which owns banks in the St. Louis, Kansas City and Phoenix metro areas, is acquiring Trinity Capital Corporation, LANB’s parent company. The combined company would have nearly $7 billion in assets, accord- ing to a news release from Enterprise. LANB has offices in Los Alamos, Santa Fe and Albu - querque, and its parent company has current assets of $1.3 billion. Enterprise has $5.5 billion in assets. “We are pleased to join with Enterprise particularly due to an admiration for their diverse business model as well as their commitment to serving their clients,” John Gulas, Trinity president and chief executive officer, said in a prepared statement. In a phone interview, Gulas said customers probably won’t see any difference in the way LANB does business. “They do a great job of customer service and have the same kind of focus on customer service that we have with ours,” he said, adding that their respective mission statements are similar. “Our customers will deal with the same people they’ve always dealt with.” The same goes for the bank’s commitment to commu- nity involvement. “None of that will change. They believe, like we do, that a community bank must support the community,” he said. Trinity shareholders will receive .1972 shares of Enterprise common stock and $1.84 in cash for each share of Trinity common stock they hold, according to the release. The transaction is expected to close early this year. LANB was formed in 1963 by a group of local inves- tors. It has six locations: three in Santa Fe and one each in Albuquerque, White Rock and Los Alamos. Jennifer Riordan Foundation Honored with a Spirit of New Mexico Award The Albuquerque Journal has announced re- cipients of its 2018 Spirit of New Mexico Awards. Included among the honorees is the Jennifer Rior- dan Foundation. Jennifer Riordan, vice president of community relations for Wells Fargo Bank in Albuquerque, was tragically killed on April 17 , in a Southwest Airlines accident. According to the Albuquerque Journal, in the wake of the accident, Riordan’s family, led by her husband, Michael, established the Jennifer Riordan Memorial Trust. Michael Riordan says that hundreds of donations