Bloomington-based Heartland Bank and Trust Company has announced plans to merge with Town and Country Bank, headquartered in Springfield.
In a statement released Aug. 23, HBT Financial, Inc., the holding company for Heartland Bank and Trust Company, and Town and Country Financial Corporation, the holding company for Town and Country Bank, announced the signing of a definitive agreement pursuant to which HBT Financial will merge with Town and Country Financial Corporation and Town and Country Bank.
Town and Country Bank is a community bank serving markets in central Illinois and the St. Louis Metro East area. Specializing in commercial banking, Town and Country Bank had total assets of $875 million and total deposits of $744 million as of June 30, 2022.
Micah Bartlett, President and CEO of Town and Country Financial Corporation, said, “The Town and Country team is proud to have created a high-quality, high-performing financial services company. We are excited to partner with one of Illinois’ highest-performing banking organizations to create even more opportunities for our employees and customers. There are significant opportunities and challenges ahead in the banking business, and the combination of these two strong organizations makes us better equipped to flourish in the long run.”
Heartland Bank and Trust Company has 61 locations throughout central and northern Illinois and eastern Iowa. As of June 30, 2022, the company had total assets of $4.2 billion and total deposits of $3.7 billion.
Fred Drake, Chairman and CEO of HBT Financial, said, “We are very pleased to announce our merger with Town and Country Financial Corporation, which is a highly compatible franchise that we have respected and admired for a long time. Operating with a similar relationship-based approach to commercial banking and conservative credit culture, Town and Country has built a high-performing institution with an attractive deposit base. We believe that combining with Town and Country will help us continue generating profitable growth and create additional value for shareholders in the years ahead.”
The transaction has been unanimously approved by each company’s board of directors and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2023, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
