CornerBank and Emprise Bank have abandoned merger talks by mutual agreement, the banks’ top executives said Friday afternoon in a joint statement.

The two banks, each of which have locations in Lawrence, had announced Oct. 15 that they were discussing a merger. The talks followed up on informal discussions that had been ongoing for several years.

Now the talk has ended.

“As announced earlier in connection with the initiation of the merger talks, it was our intent to consider all aspects of their proposal and determine how a possible merger would affect our shareholders, customers, employees and the communities we serve,” said Bruce Schwyhart, president and chief executive officer of Winfield-based CornerBank. “After careful consideration, we did not feel all stakeholders’ needs would be met as necessary.”

Added Tom Page, president and CEO of Wichita-based Emprise: “While CornerBank would have fit well strategically and culturally with Emprise, it was not to be. We will continue to review acquisition opportunities as they present themselves in the future. We wish CornerBank all the success going forward.”

Page previously had indicated that Emprise had been interested in considering a merger because several CornerBank branches in the Wichita area might fit well within Emprise’s strategy. Emprise Bank is a $1.2 billion banking company with 41 locations across the state, including Lawrence branches at 2435 Iowa and 1121 Wakarusa Drive.

In July, CornerBank — a $240 million banking company with nine branches in southeast and northeast Kansas, including one at 4621 W. Sixth St. in Lawrence — entered into an agreement with the Comptroller of the Currency. The agreement required the bank to undertake several measures to improve the bank’s capitalization.