First Interstate BancSystem
Corporate brand
UnclaimedA Montana-based financial holding company and parent of First Interstate Bank, a community banking network serving the western and midwestern United States.
Last updated August 22, 2026
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Overview
First Interstate BancSystem is a financial holding company headquartered in Billings, Montana. Its principal banking subsidiary, First Interstate Bank, operates as a community bank serving consumers, businesses, agricultural customers, nonprofit organizations, and public-sector clients across a broad section of the western and midwestern United States. The company is the largest bank headquartered in Montana by total assets, according to the referenced company description. The organization traces its origins to 1968, when Homer Scott, Sr. acquired the Bank of Commerce in Sheridan, Wyoming. Scott incorporated the business in Montana in 1971 and expanded it during the following decade through additional acquisitions and the establishment of new banks in Montana and Wyoming. This early development created a regional banking platform built around local branches and community relationships rather than a single-city banking franchise. First Interstate’s name and visual identity have a distinctive history. In 1984, the company entered into a franchise agreement with First Interstate Bancorp, a larger multistate bank holding company based in Los Angeles, allowing the Montana organization to use the First Interstate name and logo. When Wells Fargo acquired First Interstate Bancorp in 1996, the Montana-based organization was not acquired. It negotiated successfully to retain the First Interstate identity, preserving the brand’s continuity despite the change in ownership of the separate California-based company. In 2017, the company retained rights to use the name and logo throughout all 50 states. The bank’s geographic growth accelerated through a combination of acquisitions and de novo branch openings. By the end of 1999, it had expanded to 42 branches. In 2008, the acquisition of 18 banking offices associated with First Western Bank added a presence in South Dakota. The company later entered Idaho, Oregon, and Washington through the 2017 acquisition of Cascade Bancorp, the parent of Bank of the Cascades, and the 2018 acquisition of Northwest Bancorporation, the parent of Inland Northwest Bank. Idaho Independent Bank and Community 1st Banks joined the organization in 2019 and were converted to the First Interstate Bank name in June of that year. The largest expansion described in the reference material came through the combination with Great Western Bank. First Interstate announced the transaction in September 2021 and completed it on February 1, 2022. Great Western became an operating division of First Interstate Bank, extending the network into Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and additional South Dakota markets. Great Western branches adopted the First Interstate Bank name on May 23, 2022. The company’s business is centered on relationship banking, with offerings spanning deposits, consumer and commercial lending, agricultural finance, treasury and cash-management services, wealth-related services, online and mobile banking, and other standard banking products. First Interstate also has a significant civic and physical presence in its home market. It owns 50 percent of the First Interstate Center in Billings and is its primary tenant. Completed in 1985, the 20-story building is 272 feet tall and is described in the reference material as Montana’s tallest building.
History
First Interstate BancSystem began in 1968, when Homer Scott, Sr. purchased the Bank of Commerce in Sheridan, Wyoming. The organization was incorporated in Montana in 1971. During its first decade, Scott expanded the institution by acquiring two additional banks and opening six new banks in Montana and Wyoming. This established the company’s long-term model of regional expansion through a mixture of acquisitions and newly established branches. A major branding development occurred in 1984. The Montana organization entered a franchise agreement with First Interstate Bancorp, a Los Angeles-based multistate bank holding company, and adopted the First Interstate name and logo. The two organizations remained separate. In 1996, Wells Fargo acquired First Interstate Bancorp, but the Montana banking company was not part of that transaction. First Interstate BancSystem negotiated to continue using the established name and visual identity. The company later retained rights to use the name and logo in all 50 states in 2017. The bank reached 42 branches by the end of 1999, reflecting expansion through both acquisitions and de novo development. It entered South Dakota in 2008 through the acquisition of 18 banking offices connected with the purchase of First Western Bank. The company subsequently built a larger Pacific Northwest presence. In 2017 it acquired Cascade Bancorp, the parent company of Bank of the Cascades, entering or strengthening operations in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. In 2018 it acquired Northwest Bancorporation, Inc., the parent of Inland Northwest Bank. Idaho Independent Bank and Community 1st Banks joined the company in 2019, and their operations became First Interstate Bank in June of that year. First Interstate’s most consequential expansion in the supplied historical record followed its September 2021 announcement of a merger with Great Western Bank, based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The transaction closed on February 1, 2022. Great Western became an operating division of First Interstate Bank, extending the company’s footprint into Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and additional South Dakota locations. On May 23, 2022, the former Great Western branches adopted the First Interstate Bank name. The resulting organization is a regional community-banking network operating across 14 states in the western and midwestern United States. Its activities include consumer and business deposits, lending, agricultural finance, treasury and cash management, digital banking, and other financial services typically provided through a full-service community bank. The company is also associated with the First Interstate Center in Billings, Montana, of which it owns 50 percent and serves as primary tenant. The 20-story, 272-foot building was completed in 1985 and is identified in the supplied reference as the tallest building in Montana.
- 2022
Great Western merger completed
[1]The merger closed on February 1, expanding the bank’s presence across additional western and midwestern states.
- 2022
Great Western branches rebranded
[1]Former Great Western locations adopted the First Interstate Bank name on May 23.
- 2021
Great Western Bank merger announced
[1]First Interstate announced its planned merger with Great Western Bank of Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
- 2019
Idaho Independent and Community 1st Banks join
[1]The two banking organizations joined First Interstate and became First Interstate Bank branches in June.
- 2018
Northwest Bancorporation acquisition
[1]The company acquired Northwest Bancorporation, parent of Inland Northwest Bank, supporting expansion in the Pacific Northwest.
- 2017
Cascade Bancorp acquisition and nationwide name rights
[1]First Interstate acquired Cascade Bancorp and retained rights to use the First Interstate name and logo throughout the United States.
- 2008
Expansion into South Dakota
[1]The company acquired 18 banking offices associated with First Western Bank.
- 1999
Network reaches 42 branches
[1]By the end of the decade, the bank had grown to 42 branches through acquisitions and new-bank openings.
- 1996
Montana organization retains First Interstate identity
[1]After Wells Fargo acquired First Interstate Bancorp, the separate Montana organization negotiated to retain the name and logo.
- 1984
First Interstate name adopted under franchise agreement
[1]The company entered a franchise agreement with First Interstate Bancorp to use the First Interstate name and logo.
Products and positioning
A regional community-bank platform emphasizing local relationships, branch accessibility, and integrated consumer, business, agricultural, and treasury services across the western and midwestern United States.
Retail banking
Consumer banking
Consumer banking services include deposit accounts and personal borrowing products delivered through branches and digital channels. The offering supports routine payments, savings, liquidity management, and household credit needs within the bank’s community-banking model.
Business banking
Commercial banking
Commercial banking serves businesses and organizations with deposit accounts, lending, cash-management, and related financial services. The platform is designed for locally based and regional businesses that require an ongoing banking relationship.
Agricultural finance
Agricultural banking
Agricultural banking supports farming and rural business customers through relationship-based banking and lending. The service is consistent with First Interstate’s historical presence in Montana, Wyoming, the Dakotas, and other western and midwestern markets.
Cash management
Treasury management
Treasury and cash-management services help commercial customers manage collections, payments, liquidity, and operating cash. These services complement the company’s business deposit and lending relationships.
Digital financial services
Digital banking
Online and mobile banking provide customers with digital access to accounts and routine banking functions alongside the branch network. The digital channel extends the reach of the community-bank model across the company’s multistate footprint.
Brand decisions
2022
Rebrand Great Western branches as First Interstate BankStrategyBackground
Following completion of the Great Western combination, the enlarged network required a unified customer-facing identity.
Action taken
Former Great Western locations adopted the First Interstate Bank name on May 23, 2022.
Aftermath
The rebranding consolidated the acquired locations under the First Interstate brand across the expanded multistate network.
2021
Announce merger with Great Western BankM&ABackground
First Interstate pursued a combination with Great Western Bank to expand its regional banking footprint.
Action taken
The company announced the merger in September 2021.
Aftermath
The transaction closed on February 1, 2022, and Great Western became an operating division of First Interstate Bank.
1984
Adopt the First Interstate brand through a franchise agreementStrategyBackground
The Montana banking organization sought to operate under the established First Interstate name and logo while remaining separate from the Los Angeles-based First Interstate Bancorp.
Action taken
It entered a franchise agreement permitting use of the name and visual identity.
Aftermath
The arrangement created a long-lived brand identity that the Montana organization later preserved after First Interstate Bancorp was acquired by Wells Fargo.
Sources1 sources
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