Iowa holding company buys 126 year old bank

Central Bancshares, Inc., Muscatine, Iowa, completed its purchase of Walcott Trust and Savings Bank of Walcott, Iowa in December. The transaction was announced in August.

Walcott Trust and Savings Bank, organized in 1893, primarily served the Scott and northeast Muscatine counties in Iowa with two locations. 

Central Bancshares’ acquisition of the $125 million bank increased its assets to more than $1 billion. The bank now operates in three banking charters and serves about 34,000 households and businesses with 16 locations in eastern Iowa and west-central Illinois. The company also owns CBI Bank and Trust in addition to the Walcott bank. 

Customers of the newly-acquired bank won’t notice too many immediate changes, said Greg Kistler, president and CEO of Central Bancshares Inc. The bank will continue to operate under the Walcott Trust and Savings Bank name through the first half of this coming year. 

“We then anticipate bringing the bank into the CBI Bank & Trust charter and onto our data processing system,” Kistler said. “This will open up a wider range of products and services for customers, and enable them to conduct business at nearly a dozen area locations.” 

CBI Bank & Trust has locations in Coralville, Davenport, Kalona, Muscatine, Washington and Wilton, Iowa, and in Buffalo Prairie, Ill., and with F&M Bank, which has offices in Brimfield, Galesburg and Peoria, Ill.

“We are excited to welcome the customers and employees of [Walcott Trust and Savings Bank] to our organization,” Kistler said.