Staff Photo by John Rawlston/Chattanooga Times Free Press
The main branch of the Citizens Tri-County Bank is located in downtown Dunlap, Tenn.DUNLAP, Tenn. – When a small bank in rural Sequatchie County opened nearly 40 years ago here in a trailer, its founders didn’t anticipate it would one day grow to have an eight-county reach.
“We planned to have only two or three branches, but they just kept coming,” said H. Glenn Barker, chairman and chief executive of Citizens Tri-County Bank. “We took advantage of opportunities as they’ve come along … and every time we acquire a branch or acquire a bank, we get some good employees.”
Last week, the $500 million financial institution announced its third bank acquisition, with plans to acquire the Citizens Bank of Spencer, Tenn., which has $44 million in assets.
The acquisition is pending federal approval, which is expected to take 60 to 90 days. Terms of the deal were not disclosed by the privately held banks.
Thirty miles north of Dunlap along Highway 111, the Citizens Bank of Spencer, in Van Buren County, is “a natural fit” in the growth plan of Citizens Tri-County, Barker said. In addition to expanding the bank into its eighth county, the acquisition will provide customers an added banking location and give Citizens Bank customers access to all of Citizens Tri-County’s services, said C. Ann Smith, president and chief financial officer of Citizens Tri-County.