Bank of Idaho has reached an agreement with Met Life Home Loans to assume its mortgage lending operations in Twin Falls.

Park Price, president of Bank of Idaho, said the bank will retain all seven employees of Met Life.

He said Bank of Idaho was eager to enter the market in south-central Idaho because of its strength and stability despite difficulties in the national housing market.

"As we looked around at the rest of the state, we could see it was a more stable market," Price said. "You can see that Twin Falls hasn't suffered as much as more costly areas in the state."

The Idaho Falls-based bank operates six branches in eastern Idaho, and originates between 10 and 20 mortgage loans per month.

Bank of Idaho specializes in using the latest technology, offering customers an online application process that takes only a few hours to complete and reports rates in real-time.

However, Price added that many customers still prefer working directly with bank employees to complete their applications.

"That's why we need people in Twin Falls," he said. "We wanted to reach those customers, as well."

The branch in TwinFalls will also serve Burley, Jerome and surrounding communities.

Cory Holloway, branch manager of Bank of Idaho in Twin Falls, said the branch will operate out of rented space at 1411 Falls Ave. East in Twin Falls, but may expand into other services.

"Initially, we are going to do home loans," he said. "but Bank of Idaho has expressed interest in building a bricks-and-mortar branch in the future."

Bank of Idaho was chartered in 1985 as Bank of Eastern Idaho, but changed its name in 1999 to accommodate growth outside of eastern Idaho.

Joshua Palmer may be reached at jpalmer@magicvalley.com.