Alaska regulators plan to approve Northrim's merger with Oregon bank

Alaska's banking regulators said Thursday they intend to approve Anchorage-based Northrim Bank's merger with People's Bank of Commerce of Medford, Oregon, bringing Northrim a step closer to its first branches outside Alaska.

Public comments are due before Dec. 16, according to the Division of Banking and Securities' public notice. After that, the division can approve or reject the application without further notice.

The deal would give Northrim a foothold in Southern Oregon and the Willamette Valley. When it was announced in July, People's Bank had 11 branches and about $777 million in assets. Northrim has 21 branches.

Together, the combined company would have about $4.2 billion in assets, according to Northrim's latest quarterly report to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Northrim is paying entirely in stock. Shareholders of People's Bank's parent company, PBCO Financial Corp., would get 1.16 Northrim shares for each of theirs. In July, Northrim valued the shares it would pay at about $167 million.

Shareholders of both companies approved it in October.

The state's review covers one piece of the deal: combining the two banks, with Northrim Bank as the surviving bank. Their parent companies would merge first.

The companies expect to close on or about Jan. 1, pending regulatory approvals.

Northrim opened in 1990. People's Bank of Commerce was founded in 1998.