STCU to acquire loans, deposits of Banner Bank branch

Banner Bank in Walla Walla, Wash., has agreed to sell the deposits and loans of one of its branches in Idaho to Spokane Teachers Credit Union in Liberty Lake, Wash.

According to a public notice dated Friday, the $11.6 billion-asset Banner filed an application with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to sell assets, deposits and other liabilities of its branch in Sandpoint, Idaho, to the $3 billion-asset STCU.

The public notice said that the Banner branch will be closed and its assets and deposits will be transferred to STCU’s existing branch in nearby Ponderay, Idaho. Ponderay is about 2.5 miles northeast of Sandpoint in Bonner County, Idaho.

Ezra Eckhardt , incoming CEO of Spokane Teachers Credit Union (STCU)

STCU and Banner did not disclose the price of the deal or how much in deposits and loans were being sold. According to the FDIC, the Banner branch in Sandpoint had about $20.1 million in deposits in June.

STCU said in a press release Monday that the transaction is expected to close in August. All of Banner’s employees at the Sandpoint branch will be offered jobs at STCU.

In 2002, Bonner County became the first county in Idaho to be added to STCU’s field of membership.

“Once approval is granted, we will make this conversion as seamless as possible for Banner Bank clients,” Ezra Eckhardt, STCU’s president and CEO, said in a statement.

Eckhardt noted that STCU completed a similar transaction in 2003, acquiring a branch of Wheatland Bank in Cheney, Wash.

STCU posted net income of about $31.8 million in 2018, up almost 53% from the prior year. The credit union noted in its 2018 annual report that interest income grew by almost $14.5 million over 2017, and net interest income grew by almost $11.4 million over 2017.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
Branch deals M&A Field of membership Idaho Washington
MORE FROM AMERICAN BANKER