First Savings Bank of Perkasie in Perkasie, Pa., has agreed to merge with First Federal of Bucks County in Bristol, Pa.
The merger, expected to close in the second quarter, will create a $1.8 billion-asset mutual with 24 branches and 300 employees. Financial terms of the merger were not disclosed.
The mutuals said they will come up with a new name for the combined institution. There are no plans to close any branches.
"This union brings together two local companies that share the same philosophy and commitment to our communities," Jeane Coyle, First Federal's president and chief executive, said in a press release Wednesday. "Together, we can offer financial services that span our customers' lives, from their initial savings and checking accounts to their mortgages, retirement planning and insurance needs."
The banks said in the release that they began discussing the possibility of a merger earlier this year after Frederick Schea announced plans to retire as First Savings' president and chief executive by the end of 2016. Coyle will be president and CEO of the combined institution.
The institution plans to remain a mutual.
"Being a mutual means we don't have to answer to stockholders. We answer only to our customers," Bob Byers Jr., First Savings' chairman, said in the release. "That enables us to remain independent and focus on operating in a manner that serves the communities in which we live and work."
