Nebraska's Frist Beemer mergers two community banks

Northwestern Financial Review, Jan 15, 2001

[mergers & acquisitions]

Two Nebraska banks with common ownership merged on Oct. 1 to create a $61 million bank.

The $50 million First National Bank in Beemer, Neb., and the $11 million Citizens Bank in Bancroft were both held by First Beemer Corp., said David Steffensmeier, president of First National Bank. The holding company had purchased the Bancroft bank in October 1998 from the Perry Meyer estate.

The merger will streamline operations and provide additional services such as telephone banking and Internet banking to customers in Bancroft. Steffensmeier noted that the bank's data processing operations now will be centralized in Beemer.

The Citizens Bank name will be retained, but shall be operated as a branch of First State Bank in Beemer, Steffensmeier said. By retaining the name, the bank can avoid confusion with another financial institution, the $14 million First National Bank of Bancroft.

Brian Nelson will continue to lead operations in Bancroft.