Grabill Bank and MarkleBank are merging and adopting a new name, officials announced today. The Fort Wayne-based operation will be known as iAB Financial Bank as of Oct. 9. Regulators have already blessed the union.

The banks’ holding companies merged to form Independent Alliance Banks Inc. in 2005, but the financial institutions remained separately chartered with separate identities.

“Integration has been the plan for several years in order to make the organization more efficient and control costs,” bank officials said in an announcement.

Officials have already combined the banks’ administrative and operations functions. The organization has almost $1 billion in assets and 250 employees.

For more on this story, see Tuesday’s print edition of The Journal Gazette or visit www.journalgazette.net after 3 a.m. Tuesday.

sslater@jg.net