Wells Fargo Buys Most of Pohlad Banking Empire

MINNEAPOLIS-Wells Fargo & Co. has agreed to buy banks and other businesses in seven states owned by Minnesota businessman Carl Pohlad’s Marquette Bancshares, Inc. and Texas Financial Bancorp. The deal includes 25 banking locations in the Twin Cities metro area, four in Rochester, and one each in Cannon Falls, Dassel, Hutchinson, New Prague, Monticello, Rogers, and Stewartville in Minnesota.

The purchase also includes Marquette Bank, N.A., Marquette Financial Group, Inc. and Marquette Equipment Finance, Inc.

The purchase encompasses several of the Pohlad family’s national banking interests. The banking companies that will be purchased have $5.6 billion in assets, 117 locations, $4 billion in deposits, 2,300 employees and 300,000 customer households. Not included in the sale were Pohlad’s NorthMarq Capital commercial real estate finance business and his United Properties commercial real estate firm.

Among the banks included in the deal are Marquette Capital Bank and Marquette Bank, 36 locations in Minnesota; Marquette Bank, 21 locations in South Dakota; Marquette Bank, five locations in Illinois; Marquette Bank, four locations in Cedar Rapids, IA; Meridian Capital Bank, three locations, and First National Bank & Trust, one location in Wisconsin;First State Bank of Texas and First National Bank of Texas, 43 locations in Texas; The Bank of Santa Fe, four locations in New Mexico.

In addition, the deal includes Marquette Equipment Finance, Inc., a subsidiary of Marquette Bank N.A., with $97 million in loans and leases and Marquette Financial Group, a broker-dealer with 150 investment representatives.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Pending regulatory approvals, it is expected to be completed early in the first quarter of next year.

With the purchase of the Marquette banks in Minnesota, Wells Fargo’s adds to its position as Minnesota’s largest financial services company based on deposits, number of team members, distribution network and assets under management. Wells Fargo currently has just more than 15,000 team members, more than $10 billion in deposits, 168 banking stores in 95 Minnesota communities.

Following the sale, the Pohlads say they will continue to own and expand businesses in the areas of commercial real estate finance through NorthMarqCapital Inc., asset-based lending, consumer finance and residential construction lending. They will also retain some banking interests in Arizona, Illinois and California.

In addition to the banks and businesses being retained, the Pohlad family holdings in finance and real estate include United Properties, a Bloomington,MN-based property management firm with 400 employees and The Stanton Group, an employee benefits consulting firm with 250 employees.

Wells Fargo is a $290 billion diversified financial services company providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage and consumer finance through more than 5,400 stores.