St. Paul's Western Bank bought by Omaha company 

St. Paul's Western Bank bought by Omaha company

Jul 26, 2012 (Menafn - Pioneer Press - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --Western Bank, one of St. Paul's oldest and best-performing community banks, is being acquired by a Nebraska bank holding company.

Western will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Omaha-based American National Corp., but will continue to operate as a separately chartered bank, the companies said in a news release late Wednesday, July 25. American National owns a namesake bank in Omaha. Combined, American National will have assets of 2.5 billion.

"It's business as usual, except with more products, technology and capacity to provide our customers an even better banking experience," said Western Bank President and CEO Tony Lemaire.

Despite a recession and housing market meltdown that have contributed to the closing of about a dozen metro-area banks since 2009, Western Bank has continued to grow and thrive. In addition to its headquarters on University Avenue in St. Paul, the bank operates branches in Maplewood, Oakdale, Mounds View, and Edina. Consistently among the Twin Cities' best capitalized and profitable community banks, Western's assets grew to 401 million in the first quarter of this year compared with the same period a year ago -- at a time when many banks were shrinking their balance sheets.

Founded in 1915, Western Bank has been led by the Sands family for decades. Chairman Julie Sands Causey will join the American National board of directors. The transaction is expected to close in September.

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