Effingham, Ill.-based Midland States Bank is adding to its presence in the Milwaukee market with a Wauwatosa commercial loan production office.
The office, which opened in mid-September, is in the same building as its Wauwatosa Settlement Trust Group, at 1223 Mayfair Crossing. The trust services practice was acquired from Milwaukee-based Securant Bank & Trust in early 2013 and is led by Stephen Corbisier.
Midland States Bank has $1.7 billion in assets and about 400 employees. Its 35-branch network is spread across Illinois and Missouri.
Alan Forristall will serve as the Milwaukee market president for Midland States. He has more than 30 years of banking experience and most recently served as market president in the Illinois River Valley. Forristall and his wife are relocating to Milwaukee to be closer to family.
“We did not have a plan to open even a loan production office there,” said Leon Holschbach, president and chief executive officer of Midland States. “We said how can we retain a really fine career banker…in the family and still satisfy a really important family need like being closer to his grandchildren.”
Holschbach is unsure whether the Wauwatosa offices will expand beyond their four current employees, but plans to reevaluate in a year.
“It will have a lot to do with how successful Al and Steve and their team are in getting us a foothold up there,” he said.
