ECONOMY
Santa Fe鈥檚 Century Bank says it鈥檚 鈥榥ot for sale鈥� as Oklahoma firm looks to take controlling stake
Bank7 Corp. has entered into an agreement to acquire a 71% stake in local financial institution
Published
Century Bank, one of Santa Fe鈥檚 oldest financial institutions, became the target of a takeover bid this month. But its executives are sending a clear message: The bank is 鈥渘ot for sale.鈥�
鈥淲e can assure you that it is business as usual at Century Bank,鈥� President and CEO John Brichetto said in a Friday statement.
Bank7 Corp., the parent company of the Oklahoma City-based Bank7, announced early last week it had entered into a definitive stock purchase agreement to acquire a roughly 71% controlling ownership stake in Century Financial Services Corp., the Santa Fe bank鈥檚 holding company.
Bank7 said it is acting as a 鈥渟talking horse鈥� bidder, setting an initial floor price of $68 million for the proposed sale, which could see additional bids.
Century Bank was founded in 1887 and operates nearly a dozen branches across the state, with two loan production offices in Texas. Its assets total roughly $1.35 billion. If approved by a U.S. District Court in Arizona, the proposal would bring Bank7鈥檚 total holdings to an estimated $3.4 billion.
Longtime Santa Fe business owners Gerald and Kathleen Peters are Century Bank鈥檚 majority shareholders. They posted their roughly 44% stake as collateral for two loans totaling $37 million with Kansas-based KS StateBank Corp. between 2019 and 2024. 鈥淎dditional pledgors,鈥� unidentified in the U.S. District Court case, put up a 27% share in the bank as additional collateral.
After the Peters defaulted on the loans last year, the shares are now being sold by a court-appointed receiver, or third party, in a proceeding entitled 鈥淜S StateBank Corporation v. Peters.鈥�
The Peters could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
The couple has had a series of misadventures with other Santa Fe businesses in recent years, including lawsuits seeking foreclosure on a strip mall and judgment on a defaulted loan from WestStar Bank, based in El Paso.
Bank7 said it hopes the proposed acquisition will be approved by the end of the current financial quarter ending Sept. 30, but noted there is 鈥渘o assurance鈥� the deal will be 鈥渃ompleted on the terms announced by Bank7, within the anticipated timeframe, or at all.鈥�
The Journal made multiple attempts to reach Century Bank鈥檚 CEO at his office on Wednesday, but was informed by a staff member that 鈥渉e鈥檚 not in right now.鈥�
Reached on his cell phone Wednesday afternoon, Brichetto told the Journal, 鈥淚 have no comment on advice of counsel.鈥�
Century Bank spokesperson Floyd Morelos said in a statement to the Journal that the bank was 鈥渦nable to comment further on the court-supervised sale process,鈥� adding that 鈥淐entury Bank continues to operate as usual under the management of its longstanding Board of Directors and the Bank鈥檚 experienced management team.鈥�
John Miller is the Journal鈥檚 northern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at jmiller@abqjournal.com.
