The $1.4 billion Alabama ONE Credit Union in Tuscaloosa said it expects to complete its proposed acquisition of the $476 million Peoples Independent Bank in Boaz by the third or fourth quarter pending regulatory and shareholder approvals.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Peoples Independent Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Peoples Independent Bancshares Inc., was founded in 1988 and currently operates nine branches and employs 84 people. In addition to the Boaz location, the bank has branches in Scottsboro, Gadsden, Horton, Steele, Gurley and Sylvania, Ala., and two branches in Fyffe, Ala.
Peoples Independent Bank manages $432 million in deposits, $196 million in loans and $40.7 million in capital, according to its fourth quarter financials. It posted $7.7 million in net income at the end of last year, compared to $8.4 million in net income at the end of 2024.
"This combination represents a natural extension of our growth strategy and a shared continuing commitment to support and strengthen our local communities," Alabama ONE Credit Union President/CEO Whitney Oswalt said in a prepared statement.
If approved by regulators and shareholders, Peoples Independent Bank will be the credit union's third bank acquisition. In 2021, Alabama ONE purchased the First Bank of Linden and in 2023, it acquired the First Bank of Wadley.
"We are excited about this next step and the opportunities it will bring to our customers and employees," Peoples Independent Bank President/CEO Royce Ogle said in a prepared statement. "Joining the Alabama ONE family provides us with additional resources, technology and scale to continue providing exceptional service across our markets."
The industry's second proposed whole bank acquisition by a credit union this year was not welcomed news by the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA).
"With credit unions straying beyond their founding congressional mandate of serving people of modest means with a defined field of membership, such as those with the same church or employer, an ICBA policy resolution calls on policymakers to end the federal tax exemption for credit unions with $1 billion or more in assets or to establish tax parity between credit unions and community banks," the Washington, D.C.-based trade group stated on Thursday. "ICBA looks forward to continuing to work with the administration and the 119th Congress to advance these critical reforms."
Washington appeared to be the first state to enact a specific tax treatment tied to credit union bank purchases. Last year, Washington lawmakers approved a bill requiring state-chartered credit unions that acquire a bank to pay a 1.2% business and occupation tax on gross income starting on Jan. 1.
The new law does not apply to federally chartered credit unions, credit unions chartered in other states or Washington credit unions that submitted applications for regulatory review of a bank acquisition before Jan. 1.
The state's lawmakers approved the new tax last year as part of a legislative package aimed at a $16 billion shortfall in the state's operating budget.
Community Bankers of Washington noted that in 2024, 25% of all credit union acquisitions of community banks in the country happened in Washington State, driven, in part, by credit unions' nonprofit and tax-exempt status. Of the 22 credit union-bank purchase deals that were publicly announced in 2024, six have been completed by Washington credit unions. In contrast, no bank acquisitions by Washington credit unions were publicly announced in 2025 and there have been no deals announced in that state this year.
Peter Strozniak can be reached at peter.strozniak@arc-network.com.
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