American City Business Journals

Umpqua, Columbia jumped final regulatory hurdle before merger

Tacoma-based Columbia Banking System Inc. (Nasdaq: COLB) and its subsidiary Columbia Bank are inching closer to a major merger. On Monday, Columbia Bank announced it has gained Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. approval for its planned merger with Portland-based Umpqua Holdings Corp. (Nasdaq: UMPQ) and its subsidiary Umpqua Bank. The banks say it is the last regulatory approval needed for the merger, which was first announced in October 2021 and was initially supposed to close in the middle of last year.