From staff reports

Brookings-based First Bank & Trust is acquiring two banks owned by Duke Financial Group of Minneapolis.

Peoples Bank of Commerce has five locations in Minnesota, with assets of $296 million, and State Bank of New Prague has one location and assets of $112 million.

The name of the banks will change to First Bank & Trust.

“When considering an acquisition, our strategy has been to focus on banks in and around growing markets,” said Kevin Tetzlaff, president of First Bank & Trust, Brookings. “The addition of Peoples and State Bank will allow us to expand our presence in Minnesota with locations that have strong ties to their communities.”

Tetzlaff said his bank was attracted to Peoples Bank of Commerce and State Bank of New Prague because of the quality of their management and employees, as well as their commitment to community banking.

“We think we have a common philosophy that our customers are best served by bankers who are responsive and empowered to make decisions locally,” he said.

The acquisition requires DFG shareholder and regulatory approval. It would bring First Bank & Trust’s assets to more than $1.7 billion.

David Waligoske, president and CEO of Fishback Financial Corp., the bank’s holding company, said the acquisition will enable First Bank & Trust to better compete regionally.

“With Peoples and State Bank joining our family, we can seamlessly blend the best of both organizations and bring an expanded offering of financial services to the area” Waligoske said. “In addition, our staff has ownership through our ESOP, and we believe this employee ownership creates an additional level of pride to help maintain our high-performing company.”

David Hyduke, chairman of DFG, credited First Bank’s culture and employee-ownership as the biggest draw for the merger, as well as the Fishback family’s 135-year commitment to community banking.