U.S. Bancorp To Buy Clark County Bank

U.S. Bancorp agreed to acquire closely held Northwest Bancshares Inc. for an undisclosed amount, to expand in a fast-growing section of Washington state.

Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp will gain 10 branches and $343.7 million in deposits in the Clark County area, in the south part of the state near Portland, Oregon. The transaction, which is scheduled to be completed in the third quarter, isn’t expected to have any material impact on earnings.

“Northwest Bancshares has strong ties to the business community” near its Vancouver, Wash., base, U.S. Bancorp Chairman Gerry Cameron said in a statement.

Banks are buying each other at a record clip to gain customers, enter new markets and cut costs. U.S. Bancorp is the 15th-largest bank in the country with $71 billion in assets and 1,000 branches stretching across 17 states from Oregon to Illinois.

Northwest’s chairman, president and chief executive, Thomas Young, will stay on as chairman until the two banks are integrated in the first quarter of next year. Northwest Executive Vice President Michael Allen will be president until the conversion and will remain a team leader in business banking.