WSFS Financial Corporation moved a step closer to completing the acquisition of a suburban Philadelphia bank.
The Wilmington-based financial services company announced the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency approved WSFS Bank’s application to merge with Alliance Bank, the wholly owned subsidiary of Alliance Bancorp, Inc. of Pennsylvania.
The OCC’s approval was the final regulatory approval required for WSFS to acquire Alliance Bancorp and Alliance Bank.
“We are very pleased to have received the OCC’s approval, which was the final regulatory approval to completing the transaction,” said Mark A. Turner CEO of WSFS Bank. “Our partnership with Alliance Bank furthers many of our strategic goals including expanding our service-oriented, community banking model deeper into Southeastern Pennsylvania. WSFS and Alliance Bank share many of the same values, including the passion for serving our Customers and a steadfast commitment to local, community banking.”
The approval from the OCC follows okays from Alliance Bancorp shareholders and the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities. The acquisition is expected to add to WSFS earnings per share in the first year of combined operations, excluding transaction and integration costs.
The acquisition is expected to be completed on October 9, 2015, and the systems conversion of Alliance Bank to WSFS Bank’s systems is expected to occur by October 13, 2015.
Following the transaction, WSFS Bank will have 63 offices including 17 locations in southeastern Pennsylvania and will have $5.5 billion in assets. The deal will also make WSFS the oldest and largest bank based in the Delaware Valley.
Over the years, Philadelphia-area banks have been acquired by holding companies based in Pittsburgh, Charlotte and other cities. In Delaware, Wilmington Trust, one of the largest banks in the region, was acquired by M&T after problems with loans and management practices.
A number of former Wilmington Trust and officials at smaller Delaware banks have faced or are facing federal charges.
WSFS earlier completed a smaller merger with First National Bank of Wyoming, a financial institution based in Kent County, DE.
