Southern Pine Credit Union in Georgia released from conservatorship

The National Credit Union Administration has released Southern Pine Credit Union in Valdosta, Georgia, from conservatorship.

The $43 million-asset credit union was placed into the custody of the NCUA in June of 2020 to address concerns surrounding “unsafe and unsound practices” that impacted operations at Southern Pine.

“The recovery of Southern Pine resulted from the coordinated efforts by the NCUA, the credit union’s new management team and the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance to carefully and consciously mitigate risks, enhance lending controls, revive operations and increase efficiency … that’s a win for everyone involved, but especially for the Southern Pine members who now have a stronger credit union,” Todd Harper, chairman of the NCUA, said in a press release Tuesday.

Southern Pine reported a net income of approximately $420,000 for 2021, after recording an approximated loss of $5.8 million the prior year, according to NCUA call report data.

Southern Pine is the second credit union relinquished to its members in 2022. The $4.2 billion-asset Municipal Credit Union in New York was released on Feb. 23.