County Bancshares, Inc. to acquire First State Bank

Pictured are Carlos Vacek and Bill Appelt of County Bancshares, Inc. County Bancshares, Inc. is an investor group headed by Carlos Vacek and includes local business owners, all of whom have substantial bank acquisition and management experience.

County Bancshares, Inc. announced that it has received regulatory approval to acquire First Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. and its subsidiary First State Bank, Three Rivers, Texas. The acquisition is expected to be finalized in the third quarter of 2016.

"We are very excited about this opportunity to build on the solid foundation established by the board of directors and employees of First State Bank," said Carlos Vacek CEO of County Bancshares, Inc. "First State Bank has experienced solid growth and earnings in its home market of Live Oak County and its Loan Production Office in Travis County. We are most impressed with their management and board, who share our same values, philosophies and commitment to outstanding customer service. The bank name, people, and faces that have made First State Bank so successful for over 100 years will all remain the same."

"Once this acquisition is completed, our plans, subject to the appropriate regulatory approvals, are to expand into Southeast Texas starting with the branch location in Beaumont with plans to establish our new home office in Orange to be located at the southeast corner of Martin Luther King and Interstate 10. County Bancshares is pleased to bring banking that is locally owned and operated back to our home market" Vacek added.

As of June 30, First State Bank had total assets of $159.26 million.

Bill Appelt, Chairman of the Board of First Live Oak Bancshares, Inc. shared, “We look forward to being part of County Bancshares, Inc. Their management philosophy clearly fits with our desire to continue providing the kind of personalized banking services in Three Rivers and Live Oak County that we have been known for since 1914. Further, the additional resources they provide will allow us opportunities to expand on those services as we go forward together.”