Great Southern acquires Iowa bank shuttered by FDIC

Springfield-based Great Southern Bank on Sept. 4 announced its acquisition of Iowa-based Vantus Bank, which was closed that same day by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Great Southern entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with loss share with the FDIC, assuming all deposits and certain assets of the full-service Vantus Bank, according to a news release.

Under the agreement, Great Southern is assuming about $368 million of Vantus Bank's deposits at a premium of 0.5 percent and purchasing approximately $332 million in loans and about $6 million of other bank-owned real estate at a discount of $75 million. The FDIC has agreed to cover 80 percent of loan and other real estate losses up to $102 million, and 95 percent of the losses that exceed that amount.

Vantus Bank operated 15 locations - eight banking centers in northwest Iowa, a banking center in South Sioux City, Neb., and six offices in central Iowa. All Vantus branches with regular Saturday hours opened Sept. 5 with the Great Southern name, and Vantus depositors automatically became Great Southern depositors.

"We welcome Vantus Bank customers to Great Southern," said President and CEO Joe Turner in the release. "Customers can be confident that their deposits are safe and readily accessible. It's business as usual."

According to an FDIC news release, Vantus Bank had total assets of $458 million as of Aug. 28.

This is Great Southern's second acquisition of a bank closed by FDIC, following its March acquisition of Kansas-based TeamBank, N.A.

Customers should continue to bank as usual at existing branches as Great Southern works to integrate Vantus Bank's deposit records, according to the release. Great Southern has no plans to change interest rates or terms on certificates of deposit, but customers may withdraw funds without penalty prior to maturity.

"Our associates are now excited to work diligently with Vantus Bank associates to ensure a smooth transaction for our new customers," Turner said in the release.

With this acquisition, Great Southern operates 71 retail banking centers and a network of hundreds of automated teller machines in Missouri, Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska. The bank also has loan production offices in Overland Park, Kan.; Rogers, Ark.; and St. Louis, and posted $3.3 billion in assets as of June 30. Shares of the publicly traded bank (Nasdaq: GSBC) were trading at $22.53 per share at 11:23 a.m., near the 52-week high of $22.96.