Since the beginning of 2022, 20 credit unions have completed bank acquisitions; several more acquired just branches. More bank regulations only serve to compound this phenomena.
Page 5 of this week's Jumbo Rate News includes the 20 credit unions that acquired banks between January 1, 2022 and today. We also made note of any previous bank acquisitions by the credit union, if applicable.
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More Bank Regulation Means More CUs Buying Banks
Once a rarity, the number of bank acquisitions by credit unions is growing steadily. More bank regulations only serve to compound this phenomena. Since the beginning of 2022, 20 credit unions have completed bank acquisitions; several more acquired just branches.
The list on page 5 includes the 20 credit unions that acquired banks between January 1, 2022 and today. We also made note of any previous bank acquisitions by the credit union, if applicable. Newly signed deals are just as plentiful:
October 2023:
After its deal fell through to be acquired by 4-Star Harvesters CU, Cantonment, FL (JRN 40:15), 5-Star First NB of Northwest FL, Panama City, has found itself a new acquisitive credit union: 5-Star Innovations Financial CU, Panama City, FL.
September 2023:
5-Star DFCU Financial, Dearborn, MI, which entered the Sunshine State in January with the acquisition of First Citrus Bank, Tampa, has now agreed to purchase the two Florida branch offices from 5-Star MidwestOne Bank, Iowa City, IA.
August 2023:
5-Star Michigan State University FCU, East Lansing, MI (MSUFCU) announced plans to acquire two Illinois community banks: 5-Star Algonquin State Bank, Algonquin, IL and 5-Star McHenry Savings Bank, McHenry, IL.
These will be MSUFCU’s first bank acquisitions (although it did acquire two credit unions in the past decade). This also marks MSUFCU’s first entry into a new state, which is a theme you will continue to see.
5-Star Five Star Credit Union, Dothan, AL, with nearly $775 million in assets, began acquiring banks in 2014, long before it became fashionable. It acquired Flint River NB, Camilla, GA in 2014 and Farmers State Bank, Lumpkin, GA in 2015.
Now, it has announced plans to acquire two more: 5-Star OneSouth Bank, Macon, GA, and 5-Star Wilcox County State Bank, Abbeville, GA. Combined, these transactions will add another $390 million in assets and seven more Georgia branch offices to its growing network.
5-Star First Sound Bank, Seattle, WA signed an agreement in 2021 to be acquired by BM Technologies. Regulatory delays scuttled that deal and the $160 million bank was back on the market. Until now.
On August 1st, 5-Star Harborstone CU, Tacoma, WA said it will pay $22 million for all of the bank’s assets ($160 million) and substantially all of its liabilities. This marks Harborstone’s first bank acquisition.
June 2023:
5-Star Nusenda C.U., Albuquerque, NM, a $4.3 billion asset credit union, announced in June of this year that it intends to acquire the 5-Star Western Heritage Bank, Las Cruces, NM. Adding Western Heritage Bank’s six branches will give Nusenda a total of 29 offices, including four in Texas. That opens up a brand new area for the New Mexico credit union.
May 2023:
5-Star Land of Lincoln CU , Decatur, IL is listed on page 5 due to its July acquisition of 5-Star Colchester State Bank, IL. In the past, Land of Lincoln was a serial credit union acquirer, but in May, it announced a second bank deal. This time, it will acquire the struggling 2-Star Nokomis Savings Bank, IL. Combined, Nokomis and Colchester add about $100 million in assets to Land of Lincoln’s balance sheet.
5-Star All In Credit Union, Daleville, AL, a $3 billion credit union with a long history of credit union acquisitions, announced its first deal for a bank: 4-Star SunSouth Bank, Dothan, AL. With just $113 million in assets, this is a good test for the credit union. If all works as well as planned, we would expect more of these combinations in the future.
Still Pending (see JRN 40:15)
5-Star Alabama One CU, Tuscaloosa, AL’s acq. of 5-Star First Bank of Boaz, AL, which was expected to close no later than Q2’2023.
4-Star Credit Union 1, Rantoul, IL’s purchase of 5-Star Northside Community Bank, Gurnee, IL was approved in October 2022.
Branch Deals:
4-Star Altaone FCU, Ridgecrest, CA purchased the Ridgecrest location from 5-Star Mission Bank, Bakersfield, CA; it reopened as a branch of the credit union on June 6th.
4-Star First FCU, Hiawatha, IA entered the Urbana, IA market with a single branch purchase from 5-Star Northeast Security Bank, Sumner, IA.
5-Star Royal CU, Eau Claire, WI is slowly spreading its wings with branch acquisitions from 5-Star Deerwood Bank, MN and the now defunct Lake Area Bank, Lindstrom, MN.
And finally, 5-Star Banner Bank, Walla WA, sold four branches to 5-Star Spokane Teachers Credit Union, Spokane, WA.
(Disclaimer: To the best of our knowledge, this is a complete list. However, we do reserve the right to be wrong, just this once.)
