First National Bank-Deerwood: American Bank of St. Paul's troubled tale comes to a close

Deerwood Bank said Tuesday that it closed on its acquisition of Mendota Heights-based American Bank of St. Paul, which lost millions on bad loans after the economy soured in 2008. Turnaround CEO Tom Palmer joined American Bank of St. Paul in 2011 and stopped the bleeding with branch closures, a headquarters move and other cost-cutting measures. The bank returned to profitability in 2013; Palmer left the next year. But parent company American Bancorporation sold the bank in bankruptcy court late...