In the third deal announced in the past 10 days in which a credit union would buy a community bank, LGE Community Credit Union in Atlanta said it is acquiring Greater Community Bank in Rome, Georgia.
The $2 billion-asset LGE did not disclose the price it would pay for the $322 million-asset bank.
The deal is expected to close by the third quarter of 2023.
"LGE Community Credit Union and Greater Community Bank coming together will deepen the commitment to consumers and businesses in these communities," said Chris Leggett, president and CEO of LGE Community Credit Union in a press release Friday.
LGE has 14 branches to serve its 125,000 members and will add three Greater Community Bank branches — in Bartow, Floyd and Gordon counties.
The deal is the second bank acquisition for LGE Community, which bought
David Lance, president and CEO of Greater Community Bank, said the bank's board believes LGE Community Credit Union reflects similar values to its own, and the alignment will be a positive move "for our customers, employees and the communities we serve."
LGE did not say if Lance is expected to stay on with the combined company after the deal closes.
The board of directors of both LGE Community Credit Union and Greater Community Bank have unanimously approved the transaction. The closing is subject to approval by Greater Community Bank's shareholders and regulators.
There have now been 14 announcements this year of a credit union buying a bank, surpassing last year's total of 13.
Most recently, Dort Financial Credit Union in Grand Blanc, Michigan, said earlier this week it had
Greater Community Bank was advised in the deal by the Burke Group and by the law firm James Bates Brannan Groover. LGE Community Credit Union was advised and represented by Michael Bell of the law firm Honigman.
Bell, who has advised the vast majority of credit unions on bank purchases in recent years, said overall the average deal size has increased this year, and he expects that to continue in 2023.
"I also expect geographic diversity to increase," Bell said. "And I expect that the political winds will stop blowing or blow less and the free market will prevail in 2023."
A couple of CU-bank deals have been
LGE Community earned $15.1 million in the first nine months of 2022, a 4% increase compared with a year earlier, according to call report data from the National Credit Union Administration.
