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Ogden Bancshares Inc. plans to merge its Ames and Boone banks into its Ogden bank and operate them under its City State Bank charter.

Ames Community Bank and Community Bank of Boone on Aug. 11 filed applications with the Iowa Division of Banking to merge into City State Bank of Ogden. City State Bank has also filed an application to relocate its main office from Ogden to Boone. The combined bank will have three branches in Ames, two in Boone, one in Ogden and one in Huxley. The merger is subject to approval by the banking division.

The consolidation will improve the banking offices’ customer service while reducing costs, said Robert Grathwohl, Ogden Bancshares’ chief operating officer.

“It’s going to be a greatly added convenience to our customers,” he said, noting that the merger will not mean any ownership or management changes to the private, investor-owned holding company. “Cost becomes a factor in this, too. In today’s environment, everybody’s looking to cut costs. That’s primarily the reason we’re consolidating. It’s a good situation for our customers and our communities.”

The City State Bank merger is the latest in what one banking official said could be an increasing number of mergers as bank holding companies seek to streamline operations or acquire struggling smaller banks.

For instance, in March, ISB Financial Corp. of Oskaloosa merged with MidWestOne Financial Group Inc., and the combined Iowa City-based company merged its three bank subsidiaries – MidWestOne Bank, Iowa State Bank & Trust Co. and First State Bank – under one charter. As of Aug. 11, MidWestOne operated 16 branches in Eastern Iowa under that name.

In April, Davenport-based Valley Bank acquired Horizon Bank of Oskaloosa and took over operations of its Pleasant Hill branch. Valley Bank officials had said that Horizon had some “loan problems” it was working through.

Ogden Bancshares, which has combined total assets of $519.1 million, was formed in 1999 with the acquisition of City State Bank of Ogden. The company expanded with the formation of Community Bank of Boone in 1999 and Ames Community Bank in 2001. The company launched VisionBank of Iowa in West Des Moines in 2006.

Earnings at both Ames Community Bank and Community Bank of Boone have declined during the past year. Ames Community Bank, with $178 million in assets, reported second-quarter net income of $499,000, compared with $677,000 a year earlier. Community Bank of Boone, with total assets of $140 million, posted second-quarter net income of $411,000, down from $736,000 for the same period in 2007.

In a case such as City State Bank’s merger, a holding company can gain efficiencies by combining locations under one charter, said John Sorensen, president and CEO of the Iowa Bankers Association.

“It just simplifies and adds some efficiency to the institutions,” he said. “In my mind, it doesn’t change the service to the community. It’s a trend we’ve seen for a while, but it may pick up as we see banks try to become as efficient as they possibly can.”

Despite the consolidation of charters, the number of banking offices in the state remains at an all-time high of nearly 1,500, Sorensen said.