Bank to be sold to St. John group
Staff writer
Tampa State Bank, with offices in Tampa and Marion, is expected to become a branch of SJN Bank, headquartered in St. John, by the end of this year.
Tampa bank has a long history in Marion County.
The bank was chartered in 1901, bank president Micky Lundy said, and built its Marion the branch in 1998.
Her brother, former bank president Chris Costello, died two years ago.
Tampa and SJN have agreed that personnel will remain the same, so there will be no change in familiar faces customers see, Lundy said.
“It’s a good group, and I’m confident everything will go on as it is,” Lundy said. “The name will stay the same. It will be Tampa State Bank, a branch of SJN.”
The acquisition must be approved by both state and national regulators.
“This is just the beginning phase,” Lundy said.
She expects the merger to be completed by the end of the year.
Working through details of the merger won’t be done until after regulators give approval, SJN president Chad Fisher said.
Fisher said the decision to merge with Tampa State Bank was a natural fit.
“When we look at anywhere to merge with, we look at the community and whether the community is like-minded with ours,” Fisher said. “We think the communities of Marion and Tampa have a lot of pride and are very strong. Those are the types of places I’d like to live. We believe this merger will be beneficial to both Tampa State Bank and SJN.
“We are excited to partner with the current management of Tampa State Bank to continue to be part of the Marion and Tampa communities. We have a small-town mindset that we like.
The merger will allow Tampa State Bank to do more for its customers, Fisher said. SJN will invest in technology and pool its resources in the best way possible.
SJN opened in 1905 as St. John State Bank. In June of that same year, it became St. John National Bank.
The bank changed its charter back to a state bank in 2014 and changed its name to SJN Bank.
SJN also has branches in Macksville, Hudson, Greensburg, LaCrosse, and Burdett.