Business & Finance
Business and Finance
Business and Finance 
Mon, December 21, 2009
Mercantile Bancorp Completes HNB National Bank Transaction
QUINCY, IL--(Marketwire - December 21, 2009) - Mercantile Bancorp, Inc. (
The exchange of debt for all issued and outstanding stock of HNB National Bank, headquartered in Hannibal, Missouri, leaves approximately $16 million in outstanding debt owed to Phillips and Great River. The Company anticipates the remainder of this debt will be repaid following the closing of a definitive agreement to sell its two smallest banks, Brown County State Bank and Marine Bank & Trust, both based in Illinois, to United Community Bancorp, Inc., of Chatham, Illinois for approximately $25.6 million. Pending regulatory approval, Mercantile expects the sales to close in first quarter 2010.
About Mercantile Bancorp
Mercantile Bancorp, Inc. is a Quincy, Illinois-based bank holding company with majority-owned subsidiaries consisting of three banks in Illinois and one each in Kansas and Florida, where the Company conducts full-service commercial and consumer banking business, engages in mortgage banking, trust services and asset management, and provides other financial services and products. The Company also operates a Mercantile Bank branch office in Indiana and one in Missouri. In addition, the Company has minority investments in eight community banks in Missouri, Georgia, Florida, Colorado, California and Tennessee. Further information is available on the company's website at [ www.mercbanx.com ].
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain "forward-looking statements" which reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and financial performance. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 ("the Act") provides a safe harbor for forward-looking statements that are identified as such and are accompanied by the identification of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. For these statements, the Company, together with its subsidiaries, claims the protection afforded by the safe harbor in the Act. Forward-looking statements are not based on historical information, but rather are related to future operations, strategies, financial results or other developments. Forward-looking statements are based on management's expectations as well as certain assumptions and estimates made by, and information available to, management at the time the statements are made. Those statements are based on general assumptions and are subject to various risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from the views, beliefs and projections expressed in such statements. These risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ from expectations, are set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008, and Forms 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2009, June 30, 2009 and September 30, 2009, as on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and include, among other factors, the following: general business and economic conditions on both a regional and national level; fluctuations in real estate values; the level and volatility of the capital markets, interest rates, and other market indices; changes in consumer and investor confidence in, and the related impact on, financial markets and institutions; estimates of fair value of certain Company assets and liabilities; federal and state legislative and regulatory actions; various monetary and fiscal policies and governmental regulations; changes in accounting standards, rules and interpretations and their impact on the Company's financial statements. The words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "project," and similar expressions often signify forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements in this release speak only as of the date of the release, and we do not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements.