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Banks finish merger PremierWest signs go up soon By DAVID PRESZLER Bank of Southern Oregon and Douglas National Bank are no more. The two community banks have completed their $48 million merger and are now known as PremierWest Bank, company officials announced. The final papers were filed with regulators Monday. Workers will start changing signs on the branches this week. The stock of PremierWest Bancorp, a holding company for the bank, will begin trading as PRWT today. "We are now officially PremierWest Bank," said John Anhorn, the bank's president and chief executive. "We are looking forward to growing this bank as a strong community bank that will benefit customers and shareholders alike." PremierWest, based in Medford, has $311 million in assets, 160 employees and a dozen branches. Based on assets, PremierWest is the second largest community bank in Jackson County. With assets of $311 million, the new entity's size rivals that of Rogue River-based Valley of the Rogue, which has $317 million in assets, 200 employees and 14 branches. But Valley of the Rogue still holds the edge on the profit portion of the balance sheet. In the first quarter of 2000, the combination of Bank of Southern Oregon and Douglas National made $621,000, compared to the $1,217,000 reported by Valley of the Rogue. Anhorn said the bank is in solid financial shape, noting that it is $4 million "above what bank regulators call well-capitalized." The merger expenses are estimated at $600,000 to $700,000, which will count against the company's second-quarter earnings. With the merger done, Anhorn said, the bank is poised to grow in and beyond the Rogue Valley. "We will be looking at opportunities all along the Interstate 5 corridor from south of Eugene and into Northern California," he said. Current bank customers can continue to use checks using the previous bank names until they re-order, and credit, debit and ATM cards can be used until replacement cards are received in the mail. Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA