Sky Financial acquires Ohio bank

Sky Financial Group Inc. said Wednesday it will acquire Wells River Bancorp. Inc. and its subsidiary, Perpetual Savings Bank.

Bowling Green, Ohio-based Sky Financial said the transaction likely will be completed in the fourth quarter, pending regulatory and shareholder approval. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Wellsville, Ohio-based Perpetual, a $74.7 million bank, likely will be combined with Sky Bank, Sky Financial's commercial banking affiliate, by the end of the year.

"Much like our previous acquisition of Belmont Bank, Perpetual will help us further expand our Ohio Valley region," Sky Financial chairman, president and CEO Marty E. Adams said in a news release.

Sky Financial (NASDAQ:SKYF) is a $15.8 billion diversified financial holding company that operates more than 290 financial centers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana and West Virginia.

Sky Financial operates Sky Bank Pittsburgh, the region's sixth-largest financial institution, as ranked by deposits, with more than two dozen branches.

What are people saying about mortgages today:

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March.

Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgages all cut their 30-year mortgage rates to 5.75 percent this week.

Most people think of a mortgage as a means to an end. After all, you buy a house, not a home loan. But a mortgage is much more than the path to homeownership. It is a financial instrument that must be managed, just like any other financial investment.