Community Bank of Central California, which has a branch in
Hollister, may soon have a new owner.
Hollister – Community Bank of Central California, which has a branch in Hollister, may soon have a new owner.
Central Coast Bankcorp, which owns Community Bank, agreed Thursday to sell Community Bank to Dutch-owned Rabobank for $371 million. The transaction is slated for completion next year, pending the approval of Bankcorp shareholders and federal regulators.
“Community Bank of Central California is a great community bank,” Cor Broekhuyse, regional head of Rabobank International in the Americas said in a press release. “It is a perfect fit with Rabobank.
Bankcorp officials were also excited about the impending sale of Community Bank, saying that it will allow Community Bank to offer more to its customers.
“We are pleased to join the Rabobank family … their resources and competitive pricing will be compelling advantages for our clients,” said Nick Ventimiglia, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Bankcorp, in a press release.
If the deal goes through, Rabobank will keep open the 14 Community Bank branches in San Benito, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties, according to Harry Wardwell, senior vice president of Community Bank.
“In the short term (customers) won’t see any change,” he said. “They will still be working with their same account managers and bank tellers. Their accounts and account numbers will stay the same.”
While Community Bank may eventually change its name to Rabobank, it will be able to offer more and better services, he said.
Some of those, he added, are investment and insurance products that Community Bank doesn’t have.
Wardwell also said that Rabobank is interested in opening more branches on the Central Coast.
“They’re in expansion mode,” he said.
Rabobank is among the 25 largest banks in the world with more than $600 billion in assets and operations in more than 35 countries.
