New Rock River Bank owners say ‘business as usual’

By Thomas V. Bona

BusinessRockford.com

Rock River Bank is now Community Bank of Oregon and Community Bank of Rockford.

The new owners, Harvard State Bank, decided not to bring their name with them after state banking regulators closed the Oregon bank on Thursday, President Roger Lehmann said. So the three Oregon branches will have one name and the one in Rockford will have another.

“Who knows the Harvard State Bank in Oregon, Ill.? We’re 75 miles away,” he said this morning. “We want to identify with the local community.”

After Thursday’s closing, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was appointed receiver, and the FDIC engineered a buyout by Harvard State Bank, whose officials told clients today it will be “business as usual.”

Per FDIC procedures, people were able to access their deposits all weekend as if nothing happened, something that will continue, Lehmann said.

“A lot of people came in today and said, ‘I’m not worried. We have FDIC insurance,’” he said. “They understand. There have been enough bank failures and there’s been enough in the newspapers that nobody lost money because of FDIC insurance.”

Gone are Rock River Bank’s president and board of directors, but the almost 30 employees at the four branches remain. Lehmann called them “well-trained, excellent and conscientious” people who know the market.

The new owners also plan to stay involved locally through corporate giving and other ways, Lehmann said. For example, a concert sponsored by Rock River Bank next week will be sponsored by Community Bank of Oregon at the same level. And Lehmann himself plans to be there.

“We certainly will be involved in Oregon as much as we are involved in Harvard,” he said.

Harvard State Bank is the oldest bank in McHenry County, opening in August 1866.

It has a reputation as being locally involved, said Bonnie Moller, administrative assistant for the Harvard Chamber of Commerce.

It sponsors Harvard Milk Days and local basketball and softball teams. It has bought animals at 4-H livestock auctions and helped with a campaign to pass a school-construction referendum last year. Lehmann serves on the board of directors for the Harvard Economic Development Corp. and for several years the bank and the city teamed to give grants to key community projects.

“They sponsor every single one of the chamber events,” Moller said. “I’m sure you’ll be very happy with them. They’re a great bunch of people.”

Before the purchase, Harvard State Bank had three locations, two in Harvard and one in Hebron, and 50 employees. It gained the Hebron branch by buying Hebron State Bank in 2001.

It had $141.1 million in deposits as of March 31, according to the FDIC. It was the largest bank in Harvard and 16th largest in McHenry County as of June 30, 2008, the latest rankings available from the FDIC.

Rock River Bank had $76 million in deposits as of March 31. It was the largest bank in Oregon and sixth-largest in Ogle County as of June 30, 2008. At that time, only $8 million in deposits were from the Rockford branch.

Lehmann said Harvard State Bank wasn’t actively looking to expand, but was keeping its eyes open for growth opportunities.

“It’s a size we thought we could absorb,” he said. “It’s a rural area, (and) we consider ourselves a rural area. The type of service they delivered as a community bank was the type of service we deliver.”

Staff writer Thomas V. Bona may be contacted at 815-987-1343 or tbona@rrstar.com.

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