Mother Lode Bank will merge into Oak Valley

Mother Lode Bank, a two-branch operation in the Sonora area, plans to merge into Oak Valley Community Bank.

The $7.3 million purchase by Oak Valley Bancorp, a holding company based in Oakdale, will increase its presence in the central Sierra Nevada.

The board of each company voted unanimously for the deal, scheduled to close by the end of 2015. It still needs approval from Mother Lode shareholders and regulators.

“Mother Lode Bank is a natural fit for Oak Valley Community Bank’s service culture,” Chris Courtney, president and chief executive officer at Oak Valley, said in a news release.

Mother Lode, founded in 2003, has one branch in downtown Sonora and another in East Sonora. It reported $70.7 million in assets, $49.1 million in loans and $65.3 million in deposits as of June 30.

Oak Valley Community Bank has three branches in Modesto and one each in Oakdale, Turlock, Patterson, Ripon, Escalon, Manteca, Tracy, Stockton and East Sonora. The holding company also owns Eastern Sierra Community Bank, with branches in Bridgeport, Mammoth Lakes and Bishop.

Oak Valley will serve the Sonora area with a new branch it plans to open downtown in December, along with its East Sonora location.

Oak Valley Bancorp, founded in 1990, reported assets of $764 million, loans of $463.5 million and deposits of $683.9 million as of June 30.

H. Randolph Holder, a member of the Mother Lode board, will join the Oak Valley board as part of the merger.

This story was originally published August 31, 2015 at 4:22 PM with the headline "Mother Lode Bank will merge into Oak Valley."