Three Midwest banks close deals

First Federal of Northern Michigan, Alpena, Mich., First Midwest Bancorp., Itasca, Ill., and Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc., Poplar Bluff, Mo., have all recently completed acquisitions..The $215 million First Federal merged with the $70 million Alpena Banking Corporation, Alpena, and acquired its one-branch Bank of Alpena. First Federal closed a nearby branch in connection with the acquisition.."We were very pleased with the cooperation and teamwork demonstrated throughout the transaction process. We are confident the integration process will be equally smooth," said Craig Kus, president and chief operating officer of the combined company. Kus was previously Bank of Alpena's president and CEO..First Midwest finalized its acquisition of the Chicago banking operations of Popular, Inc. The deal included 12 branches of the Puerto Rican company's Popular Community Bank, along with $726 million in deposits, $562 million in loans, and small business and middle-market banking operations.."This transaction reflects our continuing desire to expand our presence in Chicago and surrounding markets," said Michael Scudder, president and CEO of the $8.3 billion First Midwest..The $1.3 billion Southern Missouri closed its acquisition of Peoples Service Company, Nixa, Mo. Peoples' subsidiary bank, Peoples Bank of the Ozarks, operated 10 branches in southwest Missouri. Peoples had $266 million in assets, $193 million in loans and $220 million in deposits prior to the merger.