PremierWest Bank is now AmericanWest Bank. Today, AmericanWest Bank’s holding company completed the acquisition of PremierWest Bancorp (NASDAQ: PRWT), the parent company of PremierWest Bank, based in Medford, Oregon. Immediately following the close, PremierWest Bank was merged into, and became part of, AmericanWest Bank.

“On behalf of our entire company, I welcome the valued customers and talented employees of PremierWest Bank to AmericanWest Bank,” said Scott A. Kisting, Chairman and CEO, AmericanWest Bank. “Customers will continue receiving outstanding service from the bankers they’ve come to trust, now with the benefit of immediate access to increased lending capabilities and an expanded network of locations.”

The PRWT shareholders approved the sale on March 28, 2013 at a special shareholder meeting. The necessary regulatory approvals had been received previously, clearing the way for the completion of the sale.

At the close of the transaction, AmericanWest Bank’s assets totaled $3.8 billion and the Bank’s footprint expanded to 112 branches. Customers will continue to access their accounts as they always have, including using their existing debit cards, checks, online banking and branch locations.

Additionally, today Mike Koch was named President of the Bank’s Oregon and Northern California Region. Koch has more than 23 years of banking experience, including expertise in business lending, special assets and all aspects of consumer lending. He is a graduate of Pacific Coast Banking School.

“Mike is one of our very best — a highly skilled banker with a history of actively engaging employees and the community,” Kisting said. “Mike and his family are settling in Medford and his first priority is getting to know the employees and customers throughout the region and I am confident they will appreciate his energetic leadership style and unwavering commitment to community banking.”

Founded in 1974 and based in Spokane, Washington, AmericanWest Bank is a business-focused community bank offering commercial and small business banking, mortgage lending, treasury management products as well as a full line of consumer products and services. The Bank now has locations in, Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho and Utah. Learn more about us at www.awbank.net