The $1.5 billion Achieva Credit Union in Dunedin, Fla., said Wednesday it is forming a national mergers and acquisitions consulting group to help credit unions buy banks.

Achieva Merger Services will assist credit unions and banks in identifying suitable partners, due diligence, pricing analysis, merger applications, regulatory advice, acquisition accounting and integration of operations, according to a prepared statement.

The idea for the group came after Achieva completed its acquisition of the $165 million Calusa Bank in 2015. At that time, according to the credit union, the Calusa deal was the first “whole bank” acquisition by a credit union. Before the Calusa deal, bank purchase transactions by credit unions were primarily structured as purchase and assumption of the majority of the bank's assets and deposits, Achieva said.

In a prepared statement, Achieva EVP Dennis Holthaus said the Calusa Bank deal helped spark interest nationwide among credit unions that see opportunities in buying banks and vice versa. Besides credit unions, Holthaus said more than a few community banks expressed interest in finding out how they can be acquired by credit unions, particularly because this can vastly expand the number of potential buyers for their organization.

In 2012, however, three credit union deals may have originally sparked the industry-wide interest in bank acquisitions.

In January 2012, the $1.5 billion United Federal Credit Union in St. Joseph, Mich., completed its takeover of Griffith Savings Bank of Griffith, Ind. Six months later, the buyout of a New Hampshire savings bank, Monadnock Community Bank, by the $352 million GFA Federal Credit Union of Gardner, Mass., was approved by regulators. And in September, The $2 billion Landmark Credit Union of New Berlin, Wis., announced plans buy the $190 million Hartford Savings Bank, a state-chartered mutual savings bank in Hartford, Wis. That deal secured regulatory approval in 2013.

In addition to these three deals, there have been 10 completed bank purchases by credit unions from 2013 to May 2017. This year, there are three credit union bank acquisition deals pending.

The M&A group will be staffed by Achieva executives. The group can also tap specialists such as lawyers, loan analysts and investment bankers who hold experience in mergers and acquisitions transactions.

“We've gone down this road before, and now we've gathered the experts and the resources to find these opportunities and execute transactions properly,” Holthaus said, who will be leading the M&A group.

Instant Insights /

Florida Credit Union to Open M&A Group

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