Business-client focused VersaBank VBNK-T has closed an acquisition that will see it expand its main lending product to the U.S. market.
The London, Ont.-based bank says the purchase of Stearns Bank Holdingford N.A. will allow it to expand its receivables funding solution for point-of-sale finance companies.
The move follows a trend among Canada’s much larger banks to also look to the U.S. for expansion potential.
VersaBank chief executive David Taylor says the bank has a 14-year track record of offering its receivable purchase program in Canada and is working toward finalizing its first U.S. partners.
He says that because the bank operates on cloud computing, it is able to expand into the market with minimal added spending.
VersaBank bought the Holdingford division from Stearns Financial for about US$14-million in cash, and as part of the deal it acquired US$61.1-million in assets and assumed US$54.1-million in deposits and other liabilities.