2020-21213. Formations of, Acquisitions by, and Mergers of Bank Holding Companies

The companies listed in this notice have applied to the Board for approval, pursuant to the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 (12 U.S.C. 1841 et seq.) (BHC Act), Regulation Y (12 CFR part 225), and all other applicable statutes and regulations to become a bank holding company and/or to acquire the assets or the ownership of, control of, or the power to vote shares of a bank or bank holding company and all of the banks and nonbanking companies owned by the bank holding company, including the companies listed below.

The public portions of the applications listed below, as well as other related filings required by the Board, if any, are available for immediate inspection at the Federal Reserve Bank(s) indicated below and at the offices of the Board of Governors. This information may also be obtained on an expedited basis, upon request, by contacting the appropriate Federal Reserve Bank and from the Board's Freedom of Information Office at https://www.federalreserve.gov/​foia/​request.htm. Interested persons may express their views in writing on the standards enumerated in the BHC Act (12 U.S.C. 1842(c)).

Comments regarding each of these applications must be received at the Reserve Bank(s) indicated or the offices of the Board of Governors, Ann E. Misback, Secretary of the Board, 20th Street and Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20551-0001, not later than October 26, 2020.

A. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis (Chris P. Wangen, Assistant Vice President), 90 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55480-0291:

1. Bank Forward Employee Stock Ownership Plan and Trust, Fargo, North Dakota; to acquire additional voting shares of Security State Bank Holding Company, Fargo, North Dakota, and thereby indirectly acquire additional voting shares of Bank Forward, Hannaford, North Dakota.

B. Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City (Dennis Denney, Assistant Vice President) 1 Memorial Drive, Kansas City, Missouri 64198-0001:

1. Bern Bancshares, Inc., Bern, Kansas; to acquire up to 7 percent of the voting shares of UBT Bancshares, Inc., and thereby indirectly acquire voting shares of United Bank & Trust, both of Marysville, Kansas.

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, September 22, 2020.

Yao-Chin Chao,

Assistant Secretary of the Board.