The $457 million Insight Credit Union of Orlando, fresh from winning regulatory approval to expand its field of membership by six counties and 200,000 potential members, detailed Friday a branch growth plan that includes bidding on abandoned bank branches.
The expansion package includes submitting bids to the FDIC on two closed branches of a failed bank.
"We're now in due diligence after making our bids for two vacant properties in the Ocala area," said George Davis, president/CEO. He said the closed branches belonged to Central State Bank of Florida, which collapsed in January and later merged with another bank.
"We're now in what might be called the 'kick the tires' phase," said Davis. That would allow Insight to abandon the offer if it chose to do so within a 30-day time frame, he said.
The two Ocala facilities, both ready for conversion to credit union branches following rebranding, follow a similar disclosure Thursday by the $175 million MidSouth Community Credit Union in Macon, Ga. that it is the successful FDIC bidder for a shuttered bank property in north Macon which went into foreclosure following a series of Georgia bank mergers. MidSouth's new Bass Road branch will open next month, that credit union said.
At Insight, officials said if its FDIC offer is accepted, the Orlando credit union hopes to open the Ocala branches in June. It will be followed by Insight establishing a new stand-alone facility in Lake Nona. Three other new branches were recently opened in the Ovido and Inverness areas.
Regarding Ocala, Davis said another bank acquired Central Bank's portfolio of loans and deposits but the Ocala buildings were listed for sale "and so we decided to make a bid."
The timing coincides with Insight's winning approval in March from the Florida Office of Financial Regulation to expand its FOM to include the counties of Levy, Dixie, Taylor, Gilchrist, Columbia and Suwanee in west-central Florida.
In a statement, Davis said Insight "is very excited to be able to reach into the underserved areas of these newly approved counties and provide exceptional member service and financial solutions to our potential members."
Insight currently has 12 branches and 54,600 members.
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