Nebraska bank acquiring Wyoming-based Western States Bank

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The parent company of First National Bank of Omaha is acquiring Wyoming-based Western States Bank. Terms of the deal announced Monday weren’t released, but the companies said Western States has $542 million in total assets and runs 10 branches in northeastern Colorado, western Nebraska and southeastern Wyoming. First National’s Chairman and President Clark Lauritzen said the deal will allow the larger regional bank to expand its existing services in Nebraska and Colorado while adding branches in new markets of Laramie and Cheyenne, Wyoming. The Omaha-based First National is much larger than the Laramie-based Western States with nearly 5,000 employees, over $25 billion in assets and almost 100 branches in seven states.