NATCHEZ — United Mississippi Bank officials announced Wednesday a merger that will expand the Natchez-based bank into Franklin and Amite counties.

UMB President Sammy Porter said the merger, which is being completed through a stock purchase agreement with People’s Bank of the South and PBFC Holding Company, is a “great thing” for both banks.

Peoples Bank has branches in Bude, Meadville and Gloster and has a loan origination office in Liberty. UMB Chief Financial Officer Adrian Sandel said once the merger is complete, the Peoples Bank locations will be rebranded as UMB.

“We are looking forward to bringing the employees and customers of Peoples Bank into the UMB family,” Porter said. “This is a win-win for both institutions.”

Peoples Bank’s assets as of December 2012 totaled $79 million, Sandel said.

“We have been working on this merger for a little over a year,” he said. “It was a natural fit by geography — it’s an expansion into contiguous counties, and the communities there are like the ones that we are doing business in right now.”

Sandel said Porter met with Peoples Bank employees Wednesday afternoon to discuss the merger.

Peoples Bank’s shareholders still have to vote on the merger, which will also have to be approved by the Mississippi Banking Commission and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

“We believe the time frame for application and approval could be anywhere from 60 to 120 days, and we expect we will receive the appropriate approval at that time,” Sandel said.

UMB currently has banking offices in Natchez, Woodville, Centreville, Fayette, Vidalia and Melville, La.

Peoples Bank’s former Chief Executive Officer, Larry Barnette Hill of Meadville, was charged and pleaded guilty to bank fraud and money laundering charges in April.

Federal investigators said he misappropriated between $600,00 and $1 million between 2004 and 2012 and falsified the bank’s budget records to hide the embezzlement.

Hill will be sentenced July 11. He faces a maximum of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine for bank fraud and a maximum of 20 years in prison and $500,000 fine for money laundering.