UMB agrees to buy El Dorado Savings Bank for $506 million
UMB Financial agreed to buy El Dorado Savings Bank for about $506 million, adding 31 California branches and four in Nevada and lifting the network to 227.
UMB Financial Corporation agreed on October 27, 2026 to acquire El Dorado Savings Bank for about $506 million in cash and stock. The Placerville, California lender held $2.4 billion of assets, $2.1 billion of deposits and $0.5 billion of loans at September 30, 2026, according to the press release filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Dividing that price by the deposit base comes to about 24 cents of consideration per deposit dollar. The same day's investor presentation lists an 8.0% deposit premium beside the headline, a different statistic from price divided by deposits, so treating the premium as that ratio overstates it.
UMB reported $72.7 billion of assets and $60.2 billion of deposits at the same date in its Form 10-Q. El Dorado's 24% loan-to-deposit ratio leaves about three-quarters of each deposit dollar unlent. The legal object differs from a fintech paying for a charter, as in OpenReserve's priced US bank charter, and from Valley's agreement to buy Bluevine, where about 16 cents per deposit dollar bought digitally originated balances that still sat at partner banks.
Branches, cash and the share exchange
The release says the deal adds 31 branches in California and four in Nevada and takes the network to 227 branches across 15 states. Chairman and Chief Executive Mariner Kemper, on the October 28, 2026 call filed as a Form 425, called the step-up an 18% increase and put the new offices in Sacramento, Lake Tahoe and Reno, adding Nevada to the map.
El Dorado shareholders are due 13.553 shares of UMBF common stock plus $1,958.88 in cash for each share, split 52% cash and 48% stock. Chief Financial Officer Ram Shankar said UMB will issue 1.8 million shares. Former shareholders are expected to own about 2% of the combined company. Both boards approved the agreement unanimously. The Form 8-K states that El Dorado Savings Bank, F.S.B. will merge into UMB Bank, National Association.
What the El Dorado deposit book contains
Kemper put the third-quarter cost of deposits at 88 basis points and said the figure ranks among the lowest nationwide. The deck adds an 89% Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insured ratio and about $60 million of deposits per branch. The loans he described are mostly consumer mortgages at a 39% loan-to-value.
"This milestone is a significant leap forward for our retail footprint and overall presence in California and expands our UMB branch network into Nevada," Kemper said in the release. David O. Cook, chief executive of El Dorado Savings Bank, will serve as vice chairman of UMB Bank California. "This transaction will greatly benefit our customers, communities and shareholders," Cook said.
How the liquidity meets UMB's loan growth
Third-quarter gross loan production was a record $3.1 billion, and average loans grew at an 11.1% linked-quarter annualized rate. Kemper said the added deposits would take the consumer franchise to about 26% of total deposits, improve interest-bearing deposit costs by 7 basis points and take the total cost of deposits down by 4 basis points. Shankar called the purchase akin to a branch transaction and said earnings should be modestly accretive in 2027. He put Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) dilution at about 15 to 20 basis points at closing, from an 11.50% ratio at September 30, 2026.
Regulators, analysts and the next deal
Closing is expected in the first quarter of 2027, pending El Dorado's shareholder vote and regulatory approval. Employee materials on Form 425 name the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) as the agency that must approve the bank merger, with conversion late in the first quarter or early in the second quarter of 2027. Jon Arfstrom at RBC Capital Markets, Brendan Nosal at Hovde Group and Anthony Elian at JPMorgan Chase asked whether further acquisitions can proceed during integration.
Kemper said a further deal remains available because this purchase is small, and he drew the size line at transactions large enough to require giving up board seats. Sullivan & Cromwell advises UMB, and Piper Sandler and Manatt, Phelps & Phillips advise El Dorado. Rival banks are absent from the filings, while nbkc's request that the FDIC assume the LSBX consumer book shows the same kind of chartering-agency gate.
What has to clear before the funding is usable
A small mortgage book at a low loan-to-value gives UMB little cause to reopen the price over credit. What can move the 7-basis-point funding benefit is the OCC review, the shareholder vote and the conversion calendar. If that sequence slips past the first quarter of 2027, loan growth keeps drawing on the $60.2 billion of deposits UMB already holds, and Lake Tahoe extends the California network from Heartland Financial (HTLF).
This report is for industry information, and it is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security.
Reporting by Rick Steves. Filed 4 November 2026, 08:20 GMT.
Senior Reporter, Regulation and Fintech
Rick Steves has seen business and economics through many lenses. He joined the financial services industry in 2009, and has been a financial journalist since 2011.
