Citizens Equity First CU Agrees to Buy Four Branches From Simmons Bank

The $6.8 billion Citizens Equity First Credit Union signed an agreement to buy four branches in Southern Illinois from the $21.8 billion Simmons Bank, the financial institutions said in a prepared statement Monday.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

The four Simmons Bank branches manage more than $211 million in deposits, according to the FDIC. The branches serve approximately 2,600 customers, CEFCU said.

The purchase would expand CEFCU’s total branch network in Illinois and California to 31, according to the prepared statement.

The branches are in the small cities of Edwardsville, Godfrey, Columbia and O’Fallon, which are located east of St. Louis.

If approved by state and federal regulators, the purchase is expected to be finalized during the first quarter of next year.

Based in Peoria, CEFCU is the second largest credit union in Illinois serving nearly 355,000 members.

With more than 200 branches in seven states, the Pine Bluff, Ark.-based Simmons Bank has been pursuing what it calls a “branch rightsizing initiative,” according to a third-quarter report to investors.

In June and October of this year, the bank shut down 34 branches for a total annual savings of $9.1 million. After purchasing the $3.3 billion Landmark Bank in 2019, Simmons also closed six of the acquired bank’s 39 branches.

In February, Simmons Bank sold five branches in South Texas that managed $140 million in deposits and $261 million in loans for a gain on the sale of $5.9 million, according to the investors’ third-quarter report.

And in May, Simmons Bank also sold four branches in Colorado that managed $63 million in deposits and $121 million in loans for a gain on the sale of $2.2 million.