Up to 50 bank branches could close in MB, Fifth Third merger
MB Financial shareholders on Tuesday approved the company's merger with Fifth Third Bancorp.
Four months ago, Fifth Third announced its plan to buy Rosemont's MB Financial for about $4.7 billion, mostly in stock.
The deal will create convenience and a larger footprint for customers of both banks, officials said at that time.
Completion of the merger remains subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions, Larry Magnesen, chief reputation officer at Fifth Third, said Tuesday. He did not know when these approvals would happen.
The acquisition is Fifth Third's largest takeover since 2001. MB locations will take the Fifth Third Bank name, officials said. There will be some branch consolidation.
Fifth Third has 148 branch locations in the Chicago area while MB Financial has 91. For now, all branches will continue to operate, but eventually to save on costs, up to 50 of the 239 branches could close in overlapping markets, Magnesen said. He would not say which locations will close.
The deal helps Fifth Third build critical mass in the Chicago area. Fifth Third gains MB Financial's roughly $20 billion of assets. MB Financial, which was founded in 1911 by a group of Chicago businessmen, is based in Rosemont and focuses on lending to mid-size companies.
The Chicago market has become highly fragmented in recent years and has drawn interest from Canadian banks looking to expand in the U.S., experts have said. The largest U.S. banks control a smaller percentage of assets in Chicago than in other major markets, including New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Dallas.
With $25.4 billion in combined deposits, the new bank will rank fourth in total deposits and second in retail deposits in the Chicago market, Greg Carmichael, chairman and CEO of Cincinnati, Ohio-based Fifth Third, said in May.
MB Financial has about 2,000 employees in the market, while Fifth Third has 1,800, Mitchell Feiger, president and CEO of MB Financial, has said. He will become CEO of the Chicago region for the combined bank.