Allegiance Bancshares, CBTX Announce Regulatory Approvals for Merger of Equals
Allegiance Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABTX) ("Allegiance"), the holding company of Allegiance Bank, and CBTX, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBTX) ("CBTX"), the holding company of CommunityBank of Texas, N.A., today jointly announced receipt of regulatory approval from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to complete the previously announced merger of equals. This approval follows prior approvals from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Texas Department of Banking and the shareholders of both companies. No further regulatory approvals are required to complete the merger of Allegiance and CBTX. Upon closing, the merger will create a premier Texas banking franchise with the scale and capabilities to provide extraordinary service to a broad range of business and consumer customers throughout the Houston region and beyond.
Allegiance and CBTX expect to complete the merger on or about October 1, 2022, pending satisfaction or waiver of customary closing conditions. Following completion of the merger, the combined company will change its name to Stellar Bancorp, Inc. and will trade under the ticker symbol "STEL".
"We are pleased to have received regulatory approval for the merger of our two highly complementary companies," said CBTX's Chairman, CEO and President Robert R. Franklin, Jr., who will lead the combined company as CEO. "The scale of this combination reinforces its value as we share common cultures with the commitment to enhance and deliver long-term value to our customers, employees, shareholders and communities we serve," continued Franklin.
"Receiving the necessary approvals paves the way for the great opportunity that we have ahead of us to create a powerful partnership that will further set us apart as a leader and competitor across our markets," said Allegiance Chairman and CEO Steve Retzloff. "After months of collaborative planning, we are dedicated to ensuring a successful integration of our two outstanding financial institutions," concluded Retzloff.
Banking locations for both companies will continue to operate under their respective names until full integration is complete, which is anticipated to take place in the first quarter of 2023. Until integration, customers will not experience any changes to their banking and should continue using their current banking locations, checks, bank cards, online banking and other banking services. Signage and documents will begin to reflect the Stellar Bank name following the integration of the companies' banking systems.