Aberdeen’s longtime hometown lender is set to lose its standalone status, with Banner Bank striking an all-stock deal to acquire Pacific Financial in a transaction valued at about $177 million.
Under the agreement, Bank of the Pacific’s 18 branches and roughly $1.3 billion in assets would be folded into Banner’s network, creating a combined regional bank with about $18 billion in assets. Both companies’ boards have signed off, and they say the merger is on track to close in the third quarter, assuming everything goes smoothly with regulators and shareholders.
The agreement was first detailed by the Puget Sound Business Journal, which reported that the two banks will ultimately operate under a single brand once integration wraps up. That early reporting lines up with what the companies later spelled out in their joint announcement.
Deal Terms And Timeline
In a joint press release, Banner Corporation said Pacific Financial shareholders will receive 0.2633 shares of Banner common stock for each Pacific share. Using Banner’s April 29 closing price, that works out to about $17.44 per Pacific share and roughly $177 million in total consideration. The banks say the deal is expected to boost 2027 earnings per share, excluding one-time transaction costs. The terms and financial advisors are laid out in a release from Banner Corporation.
Regulatory Hurdles And Shareholder Votes
Banner has filed a Form 8-K with the SEC, attaching the full merger agreement and an investor presentation, and making clear the deal is not a done deal yet. Pacific Financial still needs approval from its shareholders, and under Washington law that means yes votes from two-thirds of outstanding shares. On top of that, the Federal Reserve Board, the FDIC and the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions all have to sign off. The SEC filing spells out the conditions and next steps in detail.
What Bank Of The Pacific Brings To The Table
Bank of the Pacific runs 18 branches across Western Washington and Northern Oregon and reported $1.29 billion in assets as of March 31, 2026. That total includes about $762 million in loans and roughly $1.14 billion in deposits, a relatively low-cost and stable funding base that Banner has publicly called attractive.
Industry coverage has pointed out that Bank of the Pacific’s footprint adds density in Western Washington markets that fit neatly around Banner’s existing locations, rather than overlapping awkwardly. Banking Dive provides the underlying figures.
Local Impact And Executive Moves
On the leadership front, the banks say Denise Portmann, Bank of the Pacific’s president and CEO, is expected to join Banner’s executive team once the merger closes. That gives Pacific’s existing customers a familiar face inside the new parent company, at least at the senior level.
Mark Grescovich, Banner’s president and CEO, said in the joint announcement, “We look forward to Denise joining our executive team and are pleased to welcome their employees, customers and shareholders to Banner.” According to Banner Corporation, customers are expected to gain access to a broader slate of products and technology tools as the integration moves ahead.
What To Watch Next
For now, the action shifts to filings and fine print. Banner plans to file a registration statement on Form S-4, and once that is declared effective, Pacific Financial will mail a definitive proxy and prospectus to its shareholders, setting the date and mechanics for the key shareholder vote.
Regulators’ timing, and any conditions they attach, will decide whether the banks can hit their targeted third-quarter closing. The SEC filing and the associated investor presentation walk through the proposed schedule along with the risk factors that could still knock this deal off course.
