By Arica Frisbey – Sanilac Broadcasting
Exchange State Bank, a Sanilac County mainstay since it was established in 1901, will be soon merging with and into Thumb Bancorp, the parent company of Thumb Bank & Trust. The merger was announced Monday, with Thumb Bank & Trust planning to convert from an S-Corporation to a C-Corporation as part of the transaction. Each bank is privately owned, with Thumb Bank having 103 shareholders and assets of $383.0 million, and Exchange having 506 shareholders and $213.5 million in assets, as of the end of June this year.
Thumb Bancorp was established in 1895 and currently has branches in Bad Axe, Bay City, Cass City, Pigeon, Caseville and as of July 18 of this year, Marlette. Exchange State Bank is a mainstay, meanwhile, in the towns of Applegate, Carsonville, Deckerville, Brown City, Sandusky and Port Sanilac, with President and CEO of the company, Kelly Gerstenberger noting that the company believes that “combining with Thumb will enable us to further enhance the banking experience and capabilities we can provide to our customers.”
The merger is expected to be closed in late 2022 or early 2023.
