Effective Thursday, Jan. 7, The Tilden Bank was merged into Cornerstone Bank.

Gary Gunderson will serve as vice president and manager of the Tilden branch, while Cameron Mathis will be vice president and assistant manager.

Bill Kester will be the vice president and manager at the Clearwater branch, and Joyce Blackmore will be vice president and manager at the Creighton branch.

"We are excited to become a part of the Cornerstone family and feel this merger will benefit our customers," said Gunderson. "Cornerstone has a reputation for community-focused banking and will provide additional financial services such as farm management, trust and investment services to name a few."

"Cornerstone Bank is pleased to have the opportunity to expand into Tilden, Clearwater and Creighton and grow our banking operation in this region," stated Kelly Holthus, chairman of the board of Cornerstone Bank. "Cornerstone is committed to serving the smaller communities in the state and this expansion fits well into our business plan."

"The Tilden Bank is known for treating their customers like family, and as a family-owned bank, Cornerstone is committed to do the same," said Kris Holoch, president and CEO of Cornerstone Bank.

With this addition, Cornerstone has 46 banking branches in 37 Nebraska communities and 18 insurance agencies in the 22-county area that it serves.

Other locations include: Albion, Aurora, Bartlett, Beaver Lake, Bradshaw, Central City, Clay Center, Columbus, Davenport, Edgar, Franklin, Geneva, Glenvil, Grand Island, Guide Rock, Hampton, Harvard, Henderson, Hildreth, Malmo, Marquette, McCool Junction, Monroe, Murray, North Loup, Polk, Rising City, St. Edward, Shelton, Stromsburg, Sutton, Waco, Wilcox and York.

Cornerstone Bank has $2 billion in total assets and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of First York Ban Corp.