The $406 million First Commerce Credit Union said it entered into a purchase andassumption agreement to acquire the $89 million First National Bankin Crestview, Fla., according to a prepared statement from theTallahassee-based cooperative.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The pending purchase could potentially bring nearly 10,000 newmembers to First Commerce CU and expand its presence in OkaloosaCounty. First National Bank has been struggling financially overthe last five years with declining assets, total deposits, and netincome losses, according to the bank's financial statements filedwith the FDIC.

From 2009 to 2013, the bank's assets fell from $152 million to$90 million, while total deposits in those same years dropped from$135 million to $87 million, according to FNB's financialstatements. From 2009 to 2103, the bank posted total net losses of$17.5 million.

At the end of 2013, the bank's return on assets was -2.39% andits return on equity was -60.13%.

Founded in 1956, FNB operates three branches in Okaloosa County,which is not located in First Commerce CU's field of membership,according to its website. The cooperative's FOM primarilyencompasses 21 counties in Florida's panhandle region and twocounties in Georgia.

If the deal is approved by state and federal regulators, itwould enable the cooperative to expand into Okaloosa County.

“As a growing credit union looking for opportunities to expandour services in the Southeast, we are excited about thisforward-thinking collaboration and feel it is a great fit all theway around,” Cecilia Homison, president/CEO of First Commerce CU, said in a prepared statement. “We lookforward to welcoming First National Bank team members and customersto the First Commerce family and bringing them our model ofremarkable service, expanded offerings and commitment tocommunity.”

Dale E. Rice Jr., president/CEO of FNB, will remain with thecredit union as a regional executive responsible for overseeing theday-to-day operations in Crestview.

In its prepared statement announcing the deal last week,however, the credit union did not specify how it planned to convertthe bank's nearly 10,000 customers to members.

The proposed deal is expected to close by the end of this yearor in early 2015, according to First Commerce CU's preparedstatement.

This is the first credit union acquisition of a commercial bankannounced this year.

In May, the purchase of the $21 million Flint River NationalBank in Camilla, Ga., by the $275 million Five Star Credit Union in Dothan, Ala., was finalized afterapproval by the NCUA.

Other recent bank acquisitions by credit unions include:

• The $2.5 billion Landmark Credit Union in New Berlin, Wis., purchased the $190million Hartford Savings Bank in 2013.
• The $1.2 billion Municipal Employees Credit Union in Baltimore acquired the $62million Advance Mutual Savings Bank in Baltimore in 2013.
• The $1.7 billion United Federal Credit Union in St. Joseph, Mich., purchasedGriffith Savings Bank in 2012.
• The $417 million GFA Federal Credit Union of Gardner, Mass., bought MonadnockCommunity Bank in 2012.