B of A Agrees to Buy Major Bank in Nevada : Banking: The $400-million deal for Valley Capital Corp. will dramatically expand BankAmerica’s presence in the state.

BankAmerica Corp. said Wednesday that it reached an agreement to buy the parent of Nevada’s second-biggest bank for stock now valued at about $400 million.

The acquisition of Valley Capital Corp., the owner of Valley Bank of Nevada, will dramatically expand B of A’s holdings in a state that recently has been stung by recession. The deal also continues B of A’s expansion through much of the West.

Unlike many of the San Francisco-based bank organization’s previous acquisitions, however, Valley Bank has been healthy financially. It has assets of $2.9 billion and 64 branches in Nevada.

Valley Capital’s other main holding, Arizona’s Caliber Bank, has assets of $233 and nine branch offices.

A spokesman for B of A, the nation’s second-biggest bank organization, said it hoped to complete the deal in the fourth quarter of this year. Under the agreement, if the value of the shares B of A would offer for Valley Capital’s stock falls below $360 million, Valley Capital could instead demand $360 million in cash.

The B of A spokesman dismissed concerns about the worsening Nevada economy. “We’re long-term bullish on Nevada,” spokesman John Keane said. “We see ourselves as a long-term player in Nevada and the western U.S.”