Feds OK Sterling, Umpqua merger

Federal bank officials have given the green light to Umpqua Bank and Spokane-based Sterling Financial Corp. to conclude their merger, first announced last year. The first signs of the deal will be Sterling’s regional signs being replaced by Umpqua Bank signs the weekend of April 18 and continuing for the next 10 weeks. A final two-week formal waiting period must still be completed, said Sterling spokesperson Cara Coon. That deadline ends on April 18, she said. Umpqua, now based in Portland, will gain a financial services foothold in Eastern Washington. It is considered Oregon’s largest bank. It’s paying about $1.9 billion in stock for Sterling, which has around 650 area workers and more than 2,600 across the service area, which includes Idaho, Oregon and California. Sterling has 176 branches in those states and in Washington. “We’ll be the largest community bank on the West Coast and the 34th largest community bank in the country,” Coon noted Sterling CEO Greg Seibly will stay with the company, previous news releases have said. Merging with Sterling gives Umpqua roughly $22 billion in assets and almost 400 total branches. Coon said the merger will result in the loss of some area Sterling positions. The full scope of that reduction is still being determined, Coon said.