Banner Corporation, which owns Banner Bank, is acquiring Pacific Financial Corporation, the holding company for Bank of the Pacific.
Bank of the Pacific is a 55-year-old bank with 18 branches and offices in Western Washington and Northern Oregon. The bank has $1.29 billion in assets, a loan portfolio of $762 million, and a deposit base of $1.14 billion. Banner Bank is also based in Washington and has been serving businesses and consumers for more than 135 years through its locations in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and California. Banner has $16.34 billion in assets.
The combined company is expected to have approximately $18 billion in assets.
“Bank of the Pacific is a highly-respected, financially strong community bank with exceptional core deposits, and we’re pleased they selected Banner as their merger partner,” Mark Grescovich, Banner president and CEO, said. “This transaction expands our presence and density in attractive Western Washington and Western Oregon markets while offering Bank of the Pacific customers broader product offerings and technology tools, increased commercial lending limits and an expanded branch delivery system. We look forward to Denise joining our executive team and are pleased to welcome their employees, customers and shareholders to Banner.”
Upon completion of the merger, Denise Portmann, president and CEO of Bank of the Pacific, is expected to join the Banner Bank executive team.
“I am extremely proud of our team and all that we have achieved together. Combining with Banner represents an exciting next chapter, creating tremendous opportunities for our employees, customers and shareholders. Our organizations share many important values—we are both financially strong, take a relationship-based approach to banking, are deeply committed to the communities we serve, trust and empower our employees, and take great care in delivering outstanding customer service,” Portmann said.
Following closing, Pacific Financial shareholders are expected to own approximately 7 percent of the company while Banner shareholders will own approximately 93 percent of the combined company.
The transaction is subject to approval by Pacific Financial shareholders, regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. It is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026.