Two locally-owned and operated banks are merging, and while executives say they will get bigger, they won’t get too big.

The owners of Springfield-based Town & Country Bank are acquiring Jacksonville-based Premier Bank, making for combined assets of more than $700 million.

Premier Bank CEO Paul White says while the deal is a good one, it’s a sign of the times in banking.

“The way the new regulatory changes are coming down the pike, the additional costs and everything else, we keep looking at whether we want to — all banks — stay independent, or go buy another bank, or merge another bank,” says White.

And White says it’s better for Town & Country to acquire Premier, than for Premier to acquire someone else.  The deal is pending regulatory and shareholder approval, but White says it would mean good things for the new Town & Country Bank.

“As far as Premier Bank, it will allow us to offer more services that, at this point in time, we can’t,” says White.  “It will allow us to offer trust services, investment services, some additional commercial services to our customers, as well as having a higher legal lending limit.  This gives Town & Country a very good footprint toward Jacksonville.  And, of course, we have another one of our main branches down near Edwardsville (“The EDGEBANK”).”

White says the move still won’t make them a mega-bank, which for many customers should be appealing.