"We have a number of subsidiaries that are part of our company, of which three of them were independent banks," Jaffe says. "We are merging those three subsidiary banks into one." The three banks had a total of nine locations, in Countryside, IL; Hawthorn Woods, IL; Hillside, IL; Lake Zurich, IL; Lombard, IL; Morton Grove, IL; and Villa Park, IL. There were two locations in Glen Ellyn, IL, Jaffe says. "It allows us to better serve our customers," he says. "Obviously, after the merger, our clients can do their banking at any of the nine locations that we have."

Inland also plans to open additional Inland Bank and Trust locations within the next six months. Inland is currently looking at a location but cannot disclose it until an application has been filed with the regulatory commission, he says. The merger will also allow Inland to "gain some operating efficiencies," Jaffe says. "It is much easier to market one name than three names and it puts us all on a single computer system; all of which is beneficial to our clients," he says.

The newly consolidated Inland Bank and Trust will offer services geared to small and mid-sized businesses. The merger "lets us deal with our borrowers on an easier and more consistent way," he says. Previously, "on large loans, each of our three banks would participate in the loan request together," Jaffe says. "Because they were independent banks, each bank would have to go through their own underwriting and approval process which inherently is inefficient." Not only will the process be more efficient, but Inland Bank and Trust will also be able to loan larger sums than the three had, he says.