Only approval by the FDIC awaits final approval of the sale ofthe $190 million Hartford Savings Bank to the $2.1 billion Landmark Credit Union in New Berlin, Wis.

The Wisconsin's Department of Financial Institutions approvedthe plan last month in a letter from Michael J. Mach, administratorfor the division of banking in Wisconsin.

“A certificate of authorization of the sale will be issued whenthe division is notified that the Federal Deposit InsuranceCorporation and the National Credit Union Administration haveapproved the sale,” wrote Mach in a Feb. 21 letter.

The letter revealed the board of directors of the Hartford, Wis.bank adopted a resolution to sell its assets to Landmark CU inJuly, but the deal was not publicly announced until September.

In January, Landmark CU received a letter of approval for theacquisition from Wisconsin's Office of Credit Unions.

During a closed meeting last week, the NCUA Board unanimouslyapproved Landmark Credit Union's acquisition of Hartford Savings Bank,subject to approval from the FDIC, according to a Board ActionBulletin posted on NCUA's website.

Although the state and NCUA hurdles have been cleared, LandmarkCU and Hartford Savings Bank will need to wait for word from theFDIC before the acquisition can be finalized.

David Barr, a spokesperson for the FDIC in Washington, said thisweek that Landmark's application is pending. He also said theagency has not yet acted and would not estimate on when the FDIC isexpected to act on whether to approve or reject the credit union'sapplication.

Landmark has completed 10 credit union mergers in the past three years. This is its firstacquisition of a bank.

Hartford Savings Bank has approximately 10,000 customers withbranch locations in Hartford, Juneau and Hubertus. Landmark CU has209,011 members.

Terms of the purchase agreement were not disclosed.

Landmark CU is the third credit union to purchase a bank in thepast 14 months. In January 2012, the $1.5 billion United Federal Credit Union in St. Joseph, Mich., completed itstakeover of Griffith Savings Bank of Griffith, Ind. In June,the buyout of a New Hampshire savings bank, Monadnock CommunityBank, by the $352 million GFA Federal Credit Union of Gardner, Mass., was approved byregulators.