San Antonio-based TransPecos Financial Corp. announced that it has entered into an agreement to purchase Luling Bancshares Inc., which includes its subsidiary Citizens State Bank of Luling, according to the San Antonio Business Journal. TransPecos Financial Corp. is the holding company of TransPecos Banks SSB, which operates in Pecos, Alpine and Marathon.
TransPecos Banks reports $472 million in assets as of June 30, 2022. Citizens State Bank of Luling had $75 million in assets as of June 30, 2022. In addition to the Luling office, the bank also has a branch in San Antonio.
According to the San Antonio Business Journal, Citizens State Bank of Luling will retain its original 1914 charter and operate under its name as a subsidiary of TransPecos FC Services. Employment will not be changed as a result of the acquisition.
“[It] is really important to us that it stays in the community, that it serves the community and we believe that keeping the bank charter separated is just the right approach for them,” Royce Itschner, president and chief operating officer of TransPecos Banks, told the Journal.
Mike Kozub, CEO of TransPecos Banks, told the Journal that Citizens State Bank’s products and services will be expanded as part of the acquisition. “One is on the depository side,” Kozub says. “We have developed an expertise in deposits with public entities.”
He also noted that the Luling bank can now leverage TransPecos Banks’ expertise with government loans. “We have great expertise in government-guaranteed loans like SBA and USDA loans,” Kozub told the Journal.
