ARIZONA BANK & TRUST TO ACQUIRE THE ARIZONA BRANCHES OF JOHNSON BANK

/EIN News/ -- Phoenix, AZ, June 22, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

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Phoenix, Arizona — Phoenix, AZ-based Arizona Bank & Trust (“AB&T”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Heartland Financial USA, Inc. (“Heartland”) (NASDAQ: HTLF), and Racine, WI-based Johnson Bank, a subsidiary of Johnson Financial Group, Inc. (“JFG”), jointly announced today that they have entered into a purchase and assumption agreement, pursuant to which AB&T will acquire Johnson Bank’s Arizona banking operations, including four branches in Phoenix and Scottsdale, and will assume substantially all of the Arizona deposits and certain other liabilities of Johnson Bank. Johnson Insurance Services is not a part of this transaction.

In connection with the closing of this transaction, Johnson Bank’s four full-service branches in Phoenix and Scottsdale and substantially all of its Arizona banking operations will be acquired by ABT. The Johnson Bank branches had deposits of approximately $362 million and loans of $186 million as of March 31, 2020.  The actual amount of deposits assumed and loans acquired will be determined at closing.

AB&T had $866 million in total assets as of December 31, 2019. It currently operates six full-service banking centers in the East Valley of the Phoenix market. When the transaction is complete, AB&T will become Heartland’s eighth bank subsidiary to cross a billion in assets with approximately $1.2 billion and 10 banking centers.  AB&T will continue to operate under the Arizona Bank & Trust brand.

William Callahan, Arizona Bank & Trust’s President and CEO said, “Arizona Bank & Trust and Johnson Bank share a common focus of providing excellent service to our customers and leadership for our communities. This transaction will enable us to add an attractive mix of commercial and personal clients, as well as experienced banking talent that we believe will enhance our business development capabilities.  We are excited to complete this acquisition, which we believe will be a strong complement to our organic growth.”

“We have tremendous respect for the team at Heartland and their community banking values. Heartland’s culture is very similar to Johnson Financial Group’s culture in the way in which it engages its employees, serves its customers, and supports its communities,” said Jim Popp, JFG’s President and CEO. “We look forward to the successful transition of our business to a local partner. Our Arizona team has been an integral part of the JFG family for more than 30 years. We are thankful to our Arizona associates for building a strong, vibrant, diversified business in one of the most dynamic growth markets in the country.”

The branch transaction is subject to approval by federal and state bank regulators and to customary closing conditions, and is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Mr. Callahan concluded, “We are increasing our presence and adding scale in Phoenix with a solid and experienced team dedicated to client success. We extend a warm welcome to Johnson Bank’s Arizona customers and employees to our organization.”

About Johnson Financial Group, Inc.

Johnson Financial Group, with offices in Wisconsin, Arizona and Minnesota, is a privately owned financial services company offering banking, wealth and insurance solutions through its subsidiaries, Johnson Bank, Johnson Wealth, and Johnson Insurance Services.  For more information visit www.johnsonfinancialgroup.com.  

About Arizona Bank & Trust
About Arizona Bank & Trust Arizona Bank & Trust, a subsidiary of Heartland Financial USA, Inc., (NASDAQ: HTLF), is a state chartered bank with more than $780 million in assets with offices in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, Chandler, Tempe and Gilbert. Arizona Bank & Trust provides an array of products and services to fulfill the financial needs of individuals and businesses. It’s headquartered at 2036 E. Camelback Road, Phoenix, Arizona. The bank specializes in business lending and deposit services, and provides a wide variety of personal credit and deposit services along with complete electronic banking programs. Visit www.arizbank.com or call 602.381.2090 for more information. The bank is a member of FDIC and an Equal Housing Lender. About Heartland Financial USA, Inc. Heartland Financial USA, Inc. is a diversified financial services company with assets of $13.3 billion. The company provides banking, mortgage, private client, investment and insurance services to individuals and businesses. Heartland currently has 114 banking locations serving 83 communities in Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, New Mexico, Arizona, Montana, Colorado, Minnesota, Kansas, Missouri, Texas and California. Additional information about Heartland Financial USA, Inc. is available at www.htlf.com.

Contact
President and CEO
William Callahan
wcallahan@arizbank.com
602.381.2080