| Houston's largest "homegrown" bank, Amegy Bancorporation, is being purchased by Zions Bancorporation in Salk Lake City, Utah, for a reported $1.7 billion in cash and stock.
But Lane Ward, vice chairman of Amegy Bank of Texas and chairman of Amegy Mortgage, said little will change at the Rosenberg office.
"The name will not change. It will remain Amegy Bank of Texas," he said. "The management and the people the customers deal with day-to-day are not changing, so from that standpoint, it's pretty transparent."
Originally Fort Bend Federal Savings and Loan, then Southwest Bank of Texas, the Rosenberg branch officially changed its name to Amegy Bank on March 7, when its parent company, Southwest Bancorporation of Texas, Inc., was changed to ABNK.
Like they did when the name changed from Southwest Bank of Texas to Amegy Bank, customers will be able to use the checks, ATM cards and personal identification numbers they already have, and automatic bill-pay service will continue with no interruptions.
According to a press release issued by bank officials, the retention of the Amegy name, leadership and employees is in keeping with Zions' tradition in purchasing banks in many Western states.
The sale makes Amegy the third major Houston-area banking company in the past five years to be purchased by an out-of-state bank. First was Bank United, purchased by the Seattle, Wash.-based Washington Mutual in 2000. Second was Coastal Bancorporation, which was bought by Hibernia Corporation of New Orleans, La., in 2004.
The Zions/Amegy merger is subject to the approval of Amegy's shareholders and the banking regulators. The merger is expected to close during the fourth quarter of this year.
Amegy Bank Chief Executive officer Paul Murphy confirmed, "We will keep our name, our management, our board and even our charter. We will continue to make loan decisions locally. We have a new partner in Zions that will preserve the heritage of community banking with the efficiencies of a large company."
Zions Chairman and CEO Harris Simmons said, "We're very excited about this new partnership with Amegy Bancorporation. This is an excellent fit for both companies. It is a combination that will allow Amegy to continue to operate as a high-quality, locally managed Texas institution. At the same time, the additional capabilities, products and capital we can bring to Amegy, particularly with our distinctive focus on banking businesses of all sizes, will allow Amegy Bank of Texas and its affiliate companies to further strengthen the relationship banking that has been the key to their success."
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