Glacier Bancorp's purchase of First National Bank and Trust of Powell has been completed, Glacier announced on Friday. First National will operate as a separately-chartered subsidiary of the Kalispel, Mont.-based corporation.

The sale was originally announced in February but only received the approval of the Federal Reserve Bank last month.

“We are delighted to have First National Bank and Trust join the Glacier Bancorp family of banks,” commented Mick Blodnick, president and chief executive officer of Glacier. “This is a respected community bank that has served the individuals and businesses of northern Wyoming for nearly 100 years.”

First National operates offices in Cody and Lovell in addition to Powell. At the end of June, the bank held total assets of approximately $280 million.

Glacier controls one other bank in Wyoming, First Bank of Evanston, which operates nine branches in western Wyoming. Nine other subsidiary banks are located in Montana, Idaho, Utah, Colorado and Washington, including Western Security in Billings. The 11 banks provide services in 60 communities in the six states. The total assets of Glacier and its holdings total approximately $5.6 billion.

First National was founded in 1912 by S.A. Nelson, and with the exception of three years during World War I, has been operated by the Nelson family since its founding. The Nelsons will continue to own shares in Glacier, which is a publicly-traded company.

At the time the sale was approved, Dick Nelson, president and chairman of the board, said there would be little change in the way the bank operates. The bank will keep its separate charter, and the only change in management will be the addition of Blodnick and one other Glacier representative to the board of directors.

As part of the merger, Dick Nelson will remain as chairman of the board at First National. Ty Nelson will be named president of the bank in the near future.