Edwards, Colo.-based fintech Battle Financial recently applied to the Federal Reserve Board to form a bank holding company to acquire Minnesota’s Stearns Bank Upsala, NA.
A $64.4 million subsidiary of St. Cloud, Minn.-based Stearns Bank, Stearns Bank Upsala has three full-time equivalent employees and a branch. Upsala is 35 miles northwest of St. Cloud.
Launched in early 2023, the leadership team at Battle Financial includes Founders Frank Trotter and Vincent Amato. The pair also founded Jacksonville, Fla.-based bank EverBank, in 1998. EverBank sold for more than $27 billion In 2017 to TIAA.
Last year, Canadian digital banking and cybersecurity solutions firm VersaBank acquired another charter of Stearns Bank, Stearns Bank Holdingford, NA, for $13.5 million. At the time, Stearns Financial Services also retained its flagship charter, $3.1 billion Stearns Bank, NA.