Banks have grown accustomed to credit unions acquiring community banks, with 40 such transactions announced since the beginning of 2022. The latest involves the Spokane Teachers Credit Union's
Now, there appears to be a deal moving in the opposite direction.
According to a spokesperson, the National Credit Union Administration is reviewing an application by the Springfield, Massachusetts-based Arrha Credit Union to merge with the $382 million-asset Pittsfield Cooperative Bank in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
The $148 million-asset Arrha, which serves about 9,500 members in Massachusetts and Connecticut, also published a notice in its hometown newspaper, the Springfield Republican, publicizing the planned combination. Merging with a larger institution would "create an increase in products and services to members and additional funding for growth," Arrha stated in the June 29 notice.
According to a report in the Credit Union Times, Arrha's board voted July 30 to approve the planned merger with Pittsfield Cooperative. The deal must also win approval from Arrha's members and from federal and state regulators. CEO Michael Ostrowski had not responded to a request for comment at deadline.
The steady drumbeat of bank acquisitions by credit unions has some in the industry on edge, with the Independent Community Bankers of America
Credit unions are exempt from federal and state income taxes. The Spokane, Washington-based Spokane Teachers, which does business as STCU, announced its acquisition plans on Tuesday. It's the 13th credit union-bank acquisition in 2024. There were
Few credit unions have made the opposite journey in recent years. In June, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans
Credit-union-to-bank conversions were frequent events with at least three dozen taking place from the mid-1990s into the early 2010s. The last institution to successfully navigate a charter change was the $5.8 billion-asset HarborOne Bancorp in Brockton, Massachusetts, which became a bank in 2013. HarborOne opened as Brockton Credit Union in 1917.
The 95-year-old Arrha has been generally profitable in recent years, although its net income has trended downward, from $908,000 in 2021 to $642,000 in 2022 to $273,000 in 2023. Through the first six months of 2024, Arrha essentially broke even, reporting a $9,000 loss. Pittsfield Cooperative, which was founded in 1889, has been more successful, reporting profits totaling about $9 million between 2021 and 2023. Through the first six months of 2024, Pittsfield Cooperative's net income was $300,000.
The combined institution would have about $530 million in assets, loans totaling $374 million and deposits of $423 million. A Pittsfield Cooperative spokesperson had not responded to a request for comment at deadline.
