In a May 15 release statement, Happy State Bank CEO Mikel Williamson and Centennial Bank CEO Gregg Appel announced that regulatory approval has been received for Happy Bancshares, Inc. to purchase and assume operations of Centennial Bank and it’s holding company Commerce Bancshares, Inc. Although the merger is set to close on July 1, Williamson said that both banks will operate as separate entities until the core systems conversion is completed in early November. “Centennial customers will continue to do business with their current branches and Happy customers will do the same until our conversion,” Williamson said.
