Illinois' Busey Bank grows with purchase of Peoria bank

Northwestern Financial Review, Feb 15-Feb 29, 2004

Busey Bank's holding company, First Busey Corp., of Urbana, Ill., has agreed to acquire First Capital Bankshares, the holding company for First Capital Bank, Peoria, Ill. The deal is expected to close in June. First Capital was founded in April 1996, and has $219 million in assets. It has three offices in Peoria and one in Pekin, Ill.

"Peoria is growing and now has great potential over the next three to five years," said Douglas Mills, chairman of First Busey.

Mills said the bank searched Illinois and Indiana for possible acquisitions and identified First Capital as an attractive candidate about two years ago.

"They've been very aggressive in working with small business," said Mills. "Their board of directors has been active in assisting management to grow the bank."

First Capital President Daniel P. Daly said the acquisition will help his bank grow.

"We need to get bigger in Peoria, and by aligning ourselves with Busey, it works," said Daly, who has been with First Capital all of its eight years. Mills said First Capital will keep its own identity into the year 2005 and will likely become a branch of Busey Bank in fall 2005. The acquisition is the largest thus far for the $1.4 billion Busey Bank.

First Busey has two banking subsidiaries: Busey Bank, which has 18 offices in Illinois, a banking center in Indianapolis and a loan production office in Fort Myers, Fla; and Busey Bank Florida, which has two offices in Cape Coral, Fla.