Wisconsin CU Plans Purchase of Illinois-Based Community Bank

The $2.6 billion CoVantage Credit Union based in the northern Wisconsin town of Antigo entered into an agreement to buy LincolnWay Community Bank, located more than 300 miles to the south in New Lenox, Ill., just south of Chicago.

In an announcement released Wednesday, officials with CoVantage said the credit union and bank boards of directors approved the proposed transaction, which would allow CoVantage to “purchase substantially all of the assets and liabilities” of the $277 million LincolnWay, a wholly-owned subsidiary of LWCBancorp, Inc.

If approved, this deal would also be a first for CoVantage as its field of membership would therefore expand into Illinois. Its current membership total is 141,259, according to the NCUA.

According to the announcement, plans include combining the 20 staff members of LincolnWay, as well as its assets, loans and other accounts, and the bank’s two branches. The agreement must obtain regulatory and LincolnWay shareholder approvals. If successful, the deal could be completed by the fourth quarter of 2022 and would push CoVantage’s asset size above $3 billion.

In a statement, CoVantage CEO Charlie Zanayed said, “We are pleased to have found a partner whose culture and values are well aligned with CoVantage. LincolnWay Community has focused on making exceptional service a priority for their personal and business banking customers like we do for those we serve at CoVantage. They are extraordinarily successful commercial lenders, particularly in commercial development and commercial real estate lending. CoVantage is also a highly successful commercial lender and is one of only a few credit unions nationally that has been serving commercial members the entire time we’ve been in business, which for CoVantage Credit Union is going on 70 years.”

Zanayed continued, “By partnering with LincolnWay Community businesses, we can deliver the size and scale that is needed to survive and thrive today. We are excited about the opportunity to help more businesses grow by expanding our commercial relationships through competitive loan rates, low or no cost business deposit services, and providing the service businesses expect. We feel this is an opportune time to provide outstanding value and exceptional service to Northern Illinois.”

LincolnWay CEO Mark Stevens said, “CoVantage Credit Union is a high-performing, growing and successful community-minded organization. We chose to partner with CoVantage because its culture, leadership and commercial real estate lending all align very closely with ours. Our customers can feel confident that this partnership only strengthens our ability to serve them in the manner they have come to expect from LincolnWay. We are excited and honored to be part of their promising future.”

According to FDIC data, LincolnWay was founded in 2005 and its total revenue in the last fiscal year was $14.84 million, with total deposits of approximately $243 million and total loans of approximately $197 million.

This marked the sixth credit union-bank buy deal so far in 2022.