Shareholders of San Luis Obispo-based Mission Community Bancorp have voted overwhelmingly in favor of a proposed merger with Heritage Oaks Bancorp out of Paso Robles. The $56 million deal was announced in October 2013 and would leave Heritage Oaks as the survivor and the largest bank based in the Tri-Counties.

According to regulatory filings, 8.28 million shares were cast in favor of the merger at a Feb. 14 shareholder meeting, while 1,450 shares were against the deal and 4,300 shares abstained.

Heritage Oaks, currently tied with Santa Barbara-based Montecito Bank & Trust as the largest lender based in the Tri-Counties with about $1.1 billion in total assets, has said it expects the deal to be immediately accretive to its earnings. The combined bank will have about $1.5 billion in assets, $1.3 billion in deposits and $1 billion in loans and will operate primarily in the Tri-Counties.

Heritage Oaks has also said it expects to achieve about $9 million in cost savings by closing overlapping branches, but has not said which locations would be shuttered.

After the deal closes, Heritage Oaks’ existing shareholders are expected to own about 77 percent of the combined bank, and Mission Community shareholders will own about 23 percent.