Citizens Alliance Bank To Buy Stockmens Bank

Citizens Alliance Bank (CAB) has agreed to acquire Cascade, Montana-based Stockmens Bank (Stockmens) in a transaction, while pledging to continue the same "community banking" commitment Stockmens Bank customers are accustomed to.

"Citizens Alliance Bank intends to maintain a continued presence in Cascade. Commitment to the customers and employees of Stockmens Bank will not change," said Chad A. Forkrud, President of Citizens Alliance Bank. "Customers will be doing business with the same individuals that they interact with today."

Although the name will change, Citizens Alliance Bank would like to assure the Stockmens' staff, customers, and community that little will change with customer services or personnel. President Mike Moore and Vice President Cheryl Cruze will continue to lead the Cascade office once the sale is complete. A priority of Citizens Alliance will be to retain the "hometown" personal service of a community bank, in line with its Core Values of being Customer Driven and Community Focused.

Michael Moore, President of Stockmens Bank said; "I feel very strongly that this transition will be a positive one for our customers. After 110 years of our family being part of banking in Cascade, and more importantly, involved with the community, it was time for a change that will ultimately result in even better products and services for our customers. It is a bittersweet time, but I am confident that CAB will continue the same dedication to the customers and the Cascade area that Stockmens Bank has for all these years." Citizens Alliance Bank, an independent community bank with total assets in excess of $1.4 billion, is headquartered in Clara City, Minnesota. CAB currently has six Montana offices located in Butte, Drummond, Great Falls, Lincoln, Philipsburg, and Seeley Lake. It also has 10 offices in rural communities in west-central Minnesota.

The transaction is contingent upon regulatory approval from the FDIC, as well as regulators in Minnesota and Montana and the shareholders of Stockmens Bank. Stockmens, which was established in 1917, has about $42 million in total assets.

Following the merger, Stockmens customers will see new banking products introduced, such as bank-sourced Visa credit cards, direct access to the secondary real estate lending market, construction lending for residential and commercial real estate, an expanded bank-lending limit, enhanced digital banking technologies, and expanded cash management services. CAB is a wholly owned subsidiary of family-owned Forstrom Bancorporation, Inc., which will exceed $1.50 billion in consolidated assets upon integration of Stockmens Bank. Forstrom Bancorporation, Inc. began conducting business in Montana with the acquisition of its Seeley Lake, MT office in 1998.

CAB and Stockmens representatives anticipate regulatory approval in the 4th quarter of 2024 and then closing the transaction in early 2025.