At the time of the announcement, Mercantile had more than 500 branches in Missouri, Illinois, Iowa and Arkansas while Roosevelt had 83 locations in Missouri, Kansas and Illinois. To allow the merger to proceed, the Federal Reserve Board ordered Mercantile to divest banks in five markets. Due to overlapping branches, Mercantile said it was planning to close 50 branch offices. The acquisition was completed in July 1997. Branches were rebranded in November of 1997. Expansion in Illinois In its first expansion move outside of Missouri, Mercantile announced in August 1986 the pending acquisition of the Alton-based First Bancshares Corp. of Illinois for an undisclosed in stock. The acquisition was completed in February 1987. In August 1991, Mercantile announced the pending acquisition of the Centralia-based Old National Bancshares with its 2 banks for $22 million in stock and cash. The acquisition was completed in December 1991. In July 1995, Mercantile announced the pending acquisition of the Sterling-based First Sterling Bancorp with its First National Bank of Sterling-Rock Falls subsidiary for $24 million. The acquisition was completed in January 1996. In March 1996, Mercantile announced the pending acquisition of the Freeport-based Today's Bancorp with its two banks and 12 offices for $87.2 million in cash and stock. In August 1996, Mercantile announced the pending acquisition of the Alton-based Regional Bancshares Inc. with its Bank of Alton subsidiary for $41 million. In October 1997, Mercantile announced the pending acquisition of the Rockford-based HomeCorp Inc. with its 10-office HomeBanc subsidiary for $45 million in stock. The acquisition was completed in March 1997 for $51 million. In February 1998, Mercantile announced the pending acquisition of the Springfield-based Firstbank of Illinois Company for $697 million in stock. At the time of the announcement, Firstbank had 48 offices in Illinois and Missouri. The acquisition was completed in July 1998. In August 1998, Mercantile announced the pending acquisition of the Rock Island-based Financial Service Corporation of the Midwest with its Rock Island Bank subsidiary for $118 million in stock. The acquisition was completed in August 1998. Expansion in Kansas In July 1992, Mercantile announced the pending acquisition of the family-owned Johnson County-based MidAmerican Corp. and Johnson County Bankshares Inc. for $129 million in stock. The acquisition was completed in January 1993. In December 1995, Mercantile announced the pending acquisition of the Topeka-based Peoples State Bank for $94 million. The acquisition was completed in August 1996. Expansion in Iowa