FINANCE
OCC Approves CIT Subsidiary’s Acquisition of Omaha Bank
Following its approval by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, New York–headquartered financial-holding company CIT Group Inc. announced that it would complete the acquisition of Mutual of Omaha Bank, which is based in Omaha, Neb. The news, released Nov. 19, follows an August announcement that CIT Group entered into an agreement with its Pasadena, Calif., retail-bank subsidiary OneWest Bank to acquire Mutual of Omaha.
“We are pleased to receive approval from the OCC and complete another milestone in the transaction,” said Ellen Alemany, CIT chairwoman and chief executive officer. “This acquisition will make CIT an even stronger company through the addition of the scalable homeowner-association banking business and the complementary middle-market banking capability.”
On Aug. 13, CIT revealed it would seek to acquire Mutual of Omaha for $1 billion, a purchase price comprised of cash and $150 million of CIT common stock. This transaction was said to include $6.8 billion in deposits—$4.5 billion from HOA deposits of 31,000 community associations throughout the United States. Additionally, $2.3 billion was reportedly derived from commercial and consumer financial centers and $8.3 billion in total assets, which includes $3.9 billion of middle-market commercial loans. Through this merger, CIT seeks to better serve smaller and mid-size businesses through financing and deposit solutions, in addition to a greater diversification of technology.
“Following our multiyear strategic transformation, we entered the next phase of our plan focused on thoughtful growth and value creation,” Alemany said in a statement at the time. “This is a unique opportunity to accelerate our strategic plan through the addition of a market-leading HOA deposit franchise, a broader set of product and technology solutions, and an expanded business footprint that complements CIT’s existing franchise.”
Around the time of the Aug. 13 announcement, OneWest Bank also announced the appointment of Rolland Mattoon as the director of small business, a position that entails management of small-business banking services throughout Southern California, from San Diego to Ventura County. The announcement, which was made on Aug. 7, revealed that Mattoon, a former JPMorgan Chase vice president and business-banking area manager, would report to Heather Ellison, who serves as head of retail branch banking for OneWest Bank.
“Small businesses are essential contributors to the local economy. As OneWest continues to support the local business community across Southern California, we are pleased to welcome Rolland to the team,” Ellison said in a statement when the announcement was made. “His breadth of retail-banking experience will help us build upon our current efforts and drive our overall small-business-banking strategy.”
Following completion of its merger with Mutual of Omaha, CIT projects the combined company will have more than $42 billion in total deposits in addition to $60 billion in total assets. CIT Group reported $50 billion in assets for the period ending Sept. 30.
“We look forward to completing the final steps of this transaction and bringing together the organizations to unlock greater value for our customers, colleagues, shareholders and communities,” Alemany said in a press release.
