Greenfield-based PyraMax Bank FSB has sold its branch at 1605 W. Mitchell St. in Milwaukee to Hartland-based Town Bank.
Town Bank will take on $5 million of deposits, as well as the branch and property, and the five employees who work there. The branch is approximately 4,000 square feet and has both drive-thru and walk-up ATMs. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“If you look at our footprint, it complements our existing footprint,” said Jay Mack, president and chief executive officer of Town Bank. “In the City of Milwaukee, we only have one location south of (I-94). The team of bankers there has been there, they’re experienced, they know the market, so we didn’t have to hire people from scratch that we weren’t sure would have knowledge of the market and knowledge of the customer base.”
Town Bank, a subsidiary of Rosemont, Illinois-based Wintrust Financial Corp., has been buying up bank branches in southeastern Wisconsin over the past several years. In 2016, it acquired Generations Bancorp Inc., the parent company of Pewaukee-based Foundations Bank, for about $25.1 million. And in 2014, it acquired Talmer Bancorp.’s 11 Wisconsin Talmer Bank and Trust branches for about $13.5 million; and the Pewaukee branch of THE National Bank.
Town Bank has also been expanding its presence in the City of Milwaukee over the past 18 months, with branches recently added at 4720 W. Lisbon Ave., 1102 W. Wells St., in Marquette’s Alumni Memorial Union and at 401 E. Kilbourn Ave. Last year, Town Bank moved its commercial banking from Hartland to downtown Milwaukee, at 731 N. Jackson St.
Established in 1892 as South Milwaukee Savings Bank, PyraMax now has eight branches in southeastern Wisconsin, at 318 N. Water St. in Milwaukee and in Franklin, Grafton, Greenfield, Mukwonago, South Milwaukee, Waukesha and West Allis. As of Sept. 30, PyraMax had $470.4 million in total assets, $403.2 million in total deposits and $37.7 million in bank equity capital. It reported a net loss of $77,000 year-to-date as of Sept. 30, according to its FDIC filing.
In September, PyraMax filed with regulators to convert from a mutual savings bank to a mutual holding company and raise up to $32.7 million in a stock offering.
“This transaction will allow us to focus our efforts on our primary markets,” said Richard Hurd, president and CEO of PyraMax Bank. “We feel that Wintrust is a good buyer for the Mitchell Street office and will work hard to ensure a smooth transition for our customers and colleagues who will be joining Wintrust.”
