Panoramic aerial view of the Las Vegas Strip, at night.
Utah’s largest credit union is planning to buy its first bank in the largest proposed acquisition of the year.
The $22.8 billion America First Federal Credit Union in Riverdale announced last week an agreement to purchase the $1.3 billion Meadows Bank in Las Vegas. Pending shareholder and regulatory approval, the deal is expected to be completed during the first half of 2026.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
Established in 2008, the bank’s 165 employees manage five locations in Nevada, one location in Phoenix, and loan production offices in Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Denver, Dallas, Sacramento, Calif., Ridgefield, Wash., and Portland, Ore.
Meadows Bank, a national SBA preferred lender, specializes in commercial, SBA, HOA and personal lending. At the end of the first quarter, the bank posted deposits of $1.1 billion, $1.1 billion in loans and $178 million in capital, according to its FDIC filings.
America First’s 3,241 employees manage 113 locations in Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Idaho, New Mexico and California, serving more than 1.5 million members. The credit union manages total shares and deposits of $20.1 billion, $15.9 billion in loans and $2.5 billion in total equity according to second quarter NCUA financial performance reports.
Led by President/CEO Chris R. Swendseid, the bank’s organizers/directors include Andre Agassi, one of the greatest professional tennis players of all time.
Last fall, America First and Meadows Bank began exploring the benefits of an acquisition for both organizations.
“As a commercial services bank, Meadows was interested in providing its customers with improved access to capital, higher borrowing limits, better technology and consumer banking services — including credit cards and mortgages that they had only offered on a limited basis. America First can readily provide all of these resources,” the credit union explained. “Meanwhile, America First has been working to expand its ability to better serve its business members regionally in Nevada and Arizona and to grow its pool of professional talent serving the business community more broadly. The excellent team at Meadows provides the opportunity to help accomplish this. Finally, like Meadows Bank, America First is deeply committed to the communities it serves, including efforts to maintain current branches, employees, local capital and community outreach.”
The proposed deal would expand America First’s Nevada presence from its current 18 locations to 23 locations, and from six to seven locations in Arizona. While most of the credit union’s 113 locations are in Utah, America First also operates two locations in Idaho and one each in New Mexico and California, its NCUA profile reports showed.
If shareholders and regulators approve the agreement, the bank will operate under the name: Meadows Financial, a division of America First.
This agreement marked the 10th credit union-bank buy deal announced this year.
Last year, there were 22 such deals. Eleven deals have been completed, eight remain pending and three have been terminated.
Peter Strozniak can be reached at pstrozniak@cutimes.com.
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