8 Mountain West Banks will close after merger

First Interstate BancSystem Inc. has identified eight branches of Mountain West Bank Financial Corp. that will close, including the office at 2828 10th Ave. S. in Great Falls, when the two bank companies complete their merger in October.

Billings-based First Interstate, the acquiring bank system, said in a statement Wednesday that the offices will close because of their proximity to existing First Interstate branches. The company said those duplicate branches usually were within about a half mile of each other.

No estimates of job loss were available, and Cindy Lyle, First Interstate senior vice president and marketing director, said "for employees expected to be affected by the branch closures, First Interstate is working diligently to minimize the impact through job placement in the consolidated organization. Those employees without an opportunity for continued employment will be offered separation pay and outplacement services."

She did not have figures for the total number of employees at the affected branches or total employment of the two banking companies.

The closures include three Mountain West Bank branches in Missoula:

• Southside Branch, 1821 South Ave. W.

• Broadway Branch, 301 E. Broadway.

• Reserve Street Branch, 3301 Great Northern Ave.

Besides the Great Falls office, four more Mountain West branches will be closed:

• Bozeman branch, 1960 N. 19th St.

• Helena Great Northern Town Center branch, at 50 W. 14th St.

• Kalispell branch, 444 W. Idaho St.

• Whitefish branch, 601 Spokane Ave.

The Mountain West Bank branch at 1225 Cedar St. in Helena, will be relocated to the Mountain West Bank Retail Banking Center and drive-up facility at 2021 N. Montana Ave. in Helena.

The $72.8 million purchase will be completed July 31, with consolidation of operations scheduled to be complete Oct. 17, the statement said. Starting Oct. 20, Mountain West customers can access their accounts at First Interstate. The Mountain West office at 12 3rd St. N.W. in Great Falls will operate as a First Interstate Bank after the consolidation.

Mountain West was founded in 1991 and has a total of 12 branches with assets of $646 million at the end of last year. First Interstate, founded in 1968, has 75 offices and $7.6 billion in assets. Upon completion First Interstate assets will total $8.2 billion giving it the No. 1 deposit market share in Montana, the statement said.

"Having multiple branches located so close to one another following the expected merger is impractical and inefficient. So, after much thought and careful consideration, we have decided to close or consolidate a number of Mountain West Bank branches," said Ed Garding, First Interstate president and CEO. "This was certainly not an easy decision to make. However, the result will be a consolidated footprint with 79 branch locations across Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota, providing customers with convenient access to a larger network of branch banking offices, along with a comprehensive line of innovative products and services."

Because the transaction hasn't closed and some information remains proprietary, Lyle said she did not have information on the value of the real estate that will be inactivated and could not say what First Interstate plans to do with the properties.