Alabama One Credit Union in Tuscaloosa has agreed to acquire First Bank, a subsidiary of Peoples Independent Bancshares in Boaz, Alabama.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close no later than the second quarter of 2023, the credit union said Monday.
Peoples Independent Bancshares and its other banking subsidiary, Peoples Independent Bank, would continue normal operations.
The $956.8 million-asset Alabama One said the deal will expand its footprint into the eastern part of the state with the addition of the $130 million-asset First Bank's five branches. The credit union has 18 branches statewide, primarily concentrated in Tuscaloosa and surrounding counties.
"Over time, we've seen many banks move out of rural communities. Their strategic goals are different than ours," Alabama One CEO William Wells said in a press release.
The deal is the fourth announced since Dec. 6 in which a credit union is buying a bank. It is the 15th such deal announced in 2022. Most recently, LGE Community Credit Union in Atlanta said Friday it is acquiring
There were 13 credit union-bank mergers announced last year. The most ever recorded was 16 in 2019, although a couple of those transactions failed to close.
Wells said Alabama One is acquiring a "seasoned" team from First Bank, and the credit union will bring more than just brick and mortar branches to some new markets.
"We back up our commitment to the community with access to the latest online/mobile banking technology," Wells said. "We understand the needs of our small-town members."
Rosen Harwood advised Alabama One on the transaction. Olsen Palmer was the financial advisor to First Bank.
Alabama One earned $5.1 million in the first nine months of 2022, a 35% increase compared with a year earlier, according to call report data from the National Credit Union Administration.
