WALDPORT – A regional bank based in the Puget Sound area of Washington officially took over operations Monday of Columbia Bank branches in Waldport and Newport.
In addition to the two Lincoln County branches, 1st Security Bank of Mountlake Terrace, Wash. bought Columbia’s former branches in Manzanita, Tillamook and Ontario in Oregon and in White Salmon and Goldendale, Wash. Columbia Bank branches in Depoe Bay and Lincoln City were not sold.
In connection with the purchase, 1st Security Bank assumed approximately $431 million in deposits and $67 million in loans, the company said in a news release Monday.
“We are excited to welcome our new customers, employees and communities to 1st Security Bank,” 1st Security chief executive officer Joe Adams said in a statement. “The completion of this transaction serves to expand our retail footprint into Oregon and further expands our Washington operations, while providing us with a great opportunity to extend our unique brand of community banking into those communities.”
It is a major expansion south for the bank, which has focused its business in northwest Washington since its founding in 1936. Before the purchase it had 21 full-service branches, two commercial and seven home lending offices and $2.65 billion in assets and is the ninth-largest bank in Washington state, but one-tenth the size of Columbia Bank.
The U.S. Department of Justice required Columbia Bank to sell – but not close — 10 of its 150 branches in Oregon, Washington and California as part of its merger with Umpqua Bank. Three Columbia Bank branches in northern California were acquired by First Northern Bank.
1st Security sent Columbia Bank customers a “welcome guide” in mid-January with details of how they will be affected by the transition and how to activate and use their new accounts.
