Bremer will purchase Dean Financial, gain St. Paul Building

Northwestern Financial Review, Feb 6, 1999

Bremer Financial Corp. is purchasing Dean Financial Services Inc., of St. Paul. The addition of Dean Financial's four bank charters and 11 offices throughout Minnesota will give Bremer 50 offices in Minnesota. The company has another 47 offices in North Dakota and Wisconsin. The acquisition is Bremer's fifth since 1993 and adds $312 million in assets to the $3.4 billion holding company.

"We are excited to welcome Dean Financial to Bremer," said Stan K. Dardis, Bremer Financial president and CEO. "The two organizations fit together naturally since both share a strong history of serving customers and communities in which they live."

Dean Financial's banks include Princeton Bank, First State Bank of Eden Prairie, First National Bank in Aitkin and the State Bank of Edgerton. Princeton Bank has two offices in Princeton, and one each in Milaca, Ogilvie, Zimmerman and downtown St. Paul. First State Bank of Eden Prairie has offices in Eden Prairie and in Minneapolis' Calhoun Square. First National Bank in Aitkin has one office, and the State Bank of Edgerton has offices in Edgerton and Leota. The acquisition is expected to close by April.

"We were looking for an organization that would offer our customers the same local decision-making philosophies Dean Financial has and at the same time provide customers expanded service and products," said Dick Schneider, president and CEO of Dean Financial. "We found that in Bremer."

The deal, which was rumored as long ago as last September, gives Bremer a stand-alone building in downtown St. Paul. Bremer, the only bank in the country owned by a philanthropic foundation, has been based in St. Paul since its founding in 1943. It has been widely reported that the bank turns over approximately 70 percent of its profits to charity.

Dean Financial will add 60 employees to Bremer's current staff of 1,500, Dardis said. Dardis is a longtime banker who started his career at Norwest and was chief executive of Metropolitan Federal Savings Bank.

Bremer Financial also recently reported net income for 1998 of $41.5 million, an 18.4 percent increase over 1997. Return on assets for the year was 1.30 percent, up from 1.22 percent in 1997.