Mercantile Bank is now part of Firstar Corp., although Lawrence-area customers may not realize the change until early next year.
The $10 billion bank merger became official early Monday morning, creating the second-largest bank in the Midwest, with more than 5 million customers and more than 1,200 branches in 13 states, including Kansas.
In Lawrence, where Mercantile has been the city's largest bank with six locations and 125 employees, customers will experience a seamless switch, said Chuck Warner, the bank's president in Lawrence.
The official name change to Firstar probably won't happen until after Jan. 1, he said.
"We'll be excited to see the green-and-white signs go up," Warner said.
Firstar, with $74 billion in assets, is now the 14th largest bank holding company in the United States. Its stock will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "FSR."
The bank, founded in 1853, will retain its corporate headquarters in Milwaukee, while Mercantile's St. Louis headquarters will become Firstar's hub for corporate banking. Firstar's offices in Cincinnati will remain the company's center for consumer banking.
The merger means a stronger financial base, an expanded array of products, stronger technology and improved efficiency for the combined "first-class" banks, Jerry A. Grundhofer, president and chief executive officer for Firstar, said in a prepared statement.
-- Mark Fagan's phone message number is 832-7188. His e-mail address is mfagan@ljworld.com.
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