LUBBOCK, Texas, March 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- South Plains Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPFI) (“South Plains” or the “Company”), the parent company of City Bank (“City Bank” or the “Bank”), and BOH Holdings, Inc. (“BOH”), the parent company of Bank of Houston, today jointly announced that, on March 20, 2026, the shareholders of BOH approved the previously announced proposed merger of BOH with and into South Plains, with South Plains continuing as the surviving corporation, followed by the proposed merger of Bank of Houston with and into City Bank, with City Bank continuing as the surviving bank.

The Company has also received the required regulatory approvals and non-objections from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Texas Department of Banking regarding the proposed merger.

All required regulatory and shareholder approvals to complete the proposed merger have now been received and the proposed merger is expected to be completed on April 1, 2026, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of the remaining customary closing conditions.

About South Plains Financial, Inc.

South Plains is the bank holding company for City Bank, a Texas state-chartered bank headquartered in Lubbock, Texas. City Bank is one of the largest independent banks in West Texas and has additional banking operations in the Dallas, El Paso, Greater Houston, the Permian Basin, and College Station, Texas markets, and the Ruidoso, New Mexico market. South Plains provides a wide range of commercial and consumer financial services to small and medium-sized businesses and individuals in its market areas. Its principal business activities include commercial and retail banking, along with investment, trust and mortgage services. Please visit https://www.spfi.bank for more information.

About BOH Holdings, Inc.

BOH Holdings, Inc. is the bank holding company for Bank of Houston, a Texas state-chartered bank headquartered in Houston, Texas. Bank of Houston is a community-oriented, full service financial institution that provides a broad array of banking services to small and middle market companies, business owners, executives, entrepreneurs and families. Bank of Houston is a locally-owned, independent financial institution and is engaged in substantially all of the business operations (except for trust services) customarily conducted by independent financial institutions in Texas. Lending activities consist principally of residential real estate, commercial real estate, personal loans, and mortgage loans.

Available Information

The Company routinely posts important information for investors on its web site (under www.spfi.bank and, more specifically, under the News & Events tab at www.spfi.bank/news-events/press-releases). The Company intends to use its web site as a means of disclosing material non-public information and for complying with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD (Fair Disclosure) promulgated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Accordingly, investors should monitor the Company’s web site, in addition to following the Company’s press releases, SEC filings, public conference calls, presentations and webcasts.

The information contained on, or that may be accessed through, the Company’s web site is not incorporated by reference into, and is not a part of, this document.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements reflect South Plains’ current views with respect to future events and South Plains’ performance. Any statements about South Plains’ expectations, beliefs, plans, predictions, forecasts, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not historical facts and may be forward-looking. These statements are often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as “anticipate,” “believes,” “can,” “could,” “may,” “predicts,” “potential,” “should,” “will,” “estimate,” “plans,” “projects,” “continuing,” “ongoing,” “expects,” “intends” and similar words or phrases. South Plains cautions that the forward-looking statements in this press release are based largely on South Plains’ expectations and are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties that are subject to change based on factors which are, in many instances, beyond South Plains’ control. Factors that could cause such changes include, but are not limited to, the expected impact of the proposed transaction between South Plains and BOH and on the combined entities’ operations, financial condition, and financial results; the businesses of South Plains and BOH may not be combined successfully, or such combination may take longer to accomplish than expected; the cost savings from the proposed transaction may not be fully realized or may take longer to realize than expected; operating costs, customer loss and business disruption following the proposed transaction, including adverse effects on relationships with employees, may be greater than expected; the impact on South Plains and BOH, and their respective customers, of a decline in general economic conditions that would adversely affect credit quality and loan originations, and any regulatory responses thereto; slower economic growth rates or potential recession in the United States and South Plains’ and BOH’s market areas; the impacts related to or resulting from uncertainty in the banking industry as a whole; increased competition for deposits in our market areas among traditional and nontraditional financial services companies, and related changes in deposit customer behavior; the impact of changes in market interest rates, whether due to a continuation of the elevated interest rate environment or further reductions in interest rates and a resulting decline in net interest income; the lingering inflationary pressures, and the risk of the resurgence of elevated levels of inflation, in the United States and South Plains’ and BOH’s market areas; the uncertain impacts of ongoing quantitative tightening and current and future monetary policies of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; changes in unemployment rates in the United States and South Plains’ and BOH’s market areas; adverse changes in customer spending, borrowing and savings habits; declines in commercial real estate values and prices; a deterioration of the credit rating for U.S. long-term sovereign debt or the impact of uncertain or changing political conditions, including federal government shutdowns and uncertainty regarding United States fiscal debt, deficit and budget matters; cyber incidents or other failures, disruptions or breaches of our operational or security systems or infrastructure, or those of our third-party vendors or other service providers, including as a result of cyber-attacks; severe weather, natural disasters, acts of war or terrorism, geopolitical instability or other external events, including as a result of the policies of the current U.S. presidential administration or Congress; the impacts of tariffs, sanctions, and other trade policies of the United States and its global trading counterparts and the resulting impact on South Plains and its customers; competition and market expansion opportunities; changes in non-interest expenditures or in the anticipated benefits of such expenditures; the risks related to the development, implementation, use and management of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence and machine learnings; potential costs related to the impacts of climate change; current or future litigation, regulatory examinations or other legal and/or regulatory actions; and changes in applicable laws and regulations. Additional information regarding these risks and uncertainties to which South Plains’ business and future financial performance are subject is contained in South Plains’ most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q on file with the SEC, including the sections entitled “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of such documents, and other documents South Plains files or furnishes with the SEC from time to time, which are available on the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov. Actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those contemplated, expressed, or implied by the forward-looking statements due to additional risks and uncertainties of which South Plains is not currently aware or which it does not currently view as, but in the future may become, material to its business or operating results. Due to these and other possible uncertainties and risks, the Company can give no assurance that the results contemplated in the forward-looking statements will be realized and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Any forward-looking statements presented herein are made only as of the date of this press release, and South Plains does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect changes in assumptions, new information, the occurrence of unanticipated events, or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. All forward-looking statements, express or implied, included in the press release are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.

Source: South Plains Financial, Inc.