Minnesota bank deal announced

Minnwest Bank, which is chartered in Redwood Falls, Minn., has signed an agreement to acquire Security State Bank of Lewiston, Minn. The deal was announced May 30 and is expected to close in the third quarter, pending regulatory approval. Security State Bank of Lewiston had consolidated assets of $67.2 million and $61 million in deposits, as of Dec. 31, 2017.

Minnwest Bank, with assets of $1.7 billion, is a subsidiary of Minnwest Corporation, which is based in Minnetonka, Minn.

“Minnwest Bank is dedicated to the growth and prosperity of agricultural communities and with this merger, we are confident we can provide a strong financial network for Security State Bank of Lewiston customers,” said Douglas Karsky, president of Minnwest Bank.

Minnwest Bank is a family-owned bank with 24 branches in 19 communities throughout Minnesota and South Dakota. Minnwest Bank is a preferred SBA lender and participates in state and federal loan programs such as SBA, FSA, Farmer Mac, Rural Finance Authority and South Dakota Dept. of Agriculture. Minnwest Bank is one of Minnesota’s largest agricultural lenders.

“The current owners of the Security State Bank of Lewiston, the Fischer family, have built a similar community banking model as Minnwest Bank and both banks are family owned. When this opportunity arose, it made sense for all parties involved to make this merger happen. We are excited about the opportunity to serve these new communities, and continue to build on the foundation established by the Fischer family, ” Karsky said.

“Our family has been involved in providing financial services to the Lewiston community for more than 80 years and to Wykoff and Spring Valley for over 25 year,” said Mary Fischer Lindell, vice president of The Fischer Corporation, the bank’s holding company.

“As with many other industries, the significant changes in regulatory compliance and the expansion of information technology issues make it extremely difficult for smaller community banks to provide the products and services required by our customers. After careful consideration of Minnwest as a merger partner, we chose to move forward as we believe their dedication to serving agricultural-related communities is well aligned with the current services we provide.”