Gateway Bancshares Inc. shareholders have approved a previously announced definitive merger agreement with First Volunteer Corp., according to a media release.

The two bank holding companies own Gateway Bank and First Volunteer Bank, respectively.

Gateway Bank opened in Ringgold in 1997 and has three locations: Alabama Highway in Ringgold, Battlefield Parkway in Fort Oglethorpe, and North Main Street in LaFayette.

Patti Steele, president and CEO of First Volunteer, and Robert Peck, Gateway Bank president and CEO, said they are “extremely pleased that the shareholders of Gateway understand the value of this transaction and gave us their approval to move forward.”

Pending receipt of required regulatory approvals, First Volunteer and Gateway expect the transaction to close within the next six-weeks.

“By joining forces with First Volunteer, we are combining talented bankers and creating a more diversified mix of consumer and commercial deposit and lending offerings,” Peck said.

Steele said the vote “is an important step in providing greater opportunities and service for our customers, employees, and community in the years ahead.”

First Volunteer Corp. owns First Volunteer Bank, a $643 million bank with 225 employees headquartered in Chattanooga and includes First Volunteer Insurance, a full-service insurance agency. First Volunteer has 22 banking offices in nine counties throughout eastern and middle Tennessee.