A Boston-based holding company’s acquisition Friday of failed Community Banks of Colorado is its second in the state and a strong indicator that it likes the markets here.
National Bank Holdings Corp. chief executive G. Timothy Laney said the commitment to Colorado is strong enough, especially after acquiring Bank of Choice in July, that the company with $6.8 billion in banking assets is thinking of moving its headquarters to Denver.
Subsidiary Bank Midwest, National Association, acquired Greeley’s Bank of Choice and $1.07 billion in assets in July.
“We’ve spent a lot of time assessing the different regions of the country and looking at markets that would recover from the downturn faster than others,” Laney said Monday. “Colorado has all the attributes to perform well.”
NBH subsidiary Bank Midwest NA acquired Community Banks through the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which was named receiver of the bank by the Federal Reserve.
A relocation decision won’t be for a couple months, Laney said. It is also considering Kansas City, Mo., home to its largest acquisition, Bank Midwest.
Friday’s acquisition of Community Banks and its $1.36 billion in assets is the holding company’s fourth acquisition nationally. It purchased Bank Midwest from a family in December.
Two months earlier, it acquired its first bank, Hillcrest Bank in Overland Park, Kan., from the FDIC.
Community Banks of Colorado, which is headquartered in Greenwood Village, will not change its name.
“Community Banks of Colorado will eventually be a division of National Bank Holdings, which will be the holding company, just like Bank Midwest will be a division,” Laney said.
Much of Community Banks’ problems came from real estate loans it made in California, where it expanded in 1997, Laney said.
He said NBH is on solid footing, with 78 banking centers in the Midwest, 59 in Rocky Mountain states and four in California.
The holding company plans to go public and is currently filing the appropriate paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission, he said.
NBH was formed in late 2009 and raised $1.15 billion to buy ailing banks.
Relocating to Denver would mean bringing “many well-paying established jobs” and new ones, Laney said.
“Looking at the number of banks in the state with troubled balance sheets and limited equity, we believe there’s a role to play in helping some of those banks in making the transition to our company,” he said.
“In Community Banks of Colorado, we expect to grow the number of jobs rather than shrink,” Laney said. “We’ve saved jobs in these acquisitions.”
David Migoya: 303-954-1506 or dmigoya@denverpost.com
