Alabama’s Family Security CU to Buy Small Bank

Alabama’s Family Security CU to Buy Small Bank
August 26, 2016 Marketing GrafWebCUSO

The $577 million Family Security Credit Union in Decatur, Ala., said Friday it plans to buy the $24.4 million Bank of Pine Hill in Pine Hill, Ala.

Although the purchase price was not disclosed, Family Security CU will “purchase substantially all of the assets and assume the deposits” of the bank, according to a definitive agreement.

The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017.

This is the third credit union acquisition of a bank in 2016.

The $1.2 billion Advia Credit Union in Parchment, Mich., finalized its acquisition of the $82 million Mid America Bank in Janesville, Wis., on Aug. 1. That acquisition deal was originally announced in February. And in April, the $1.8 billion Royal Credit Union signed a definitive agreement to buy the $35 million Capital Bank in St. Paul, Minn.

Established in 1947, the Bank of Pine Hill operates one branch in Wilcox County with total deposits of $21.2 million.

The bank’s return on assets was -0.41%, while its return on equity was -3.16% at the end of the first quarter, according to the FDIC.

“As a larger financial institution, but one still focused on the local community, [Family Security] is able to offer a wider range of products and does so at competitive rates with low fees,” L. William Godbold, president/CEO of the Bank of Pine Hill, said in a prepared statement. “For our shareholders, this transaction offers a good outcome, which reflects the solid capital position of the bank.”

If the deal is approved by state and federal regulators and completed in the first quarter of 2017, it will be the second credit union acquisition of an Alabama bank.

The purchase of the $112 million American Bank in Huntsville, Ala., by the $743 million Avadian Credit Union in Birmingham, Ala., was completed in April. That deal was originally announced in August 2015.