Illinois' Land of Lincoln CU Plans First Bank Buy

An Illinois credit union said it expects to close its first bank acquisition deal by the end of the second quarter.

The $374 million Land of Lincoln Credit Union in Decatur said in a Dec. 21 prepared statement that it plans to acquire the $82 million Colchester State Bank (CSB) in Colchester, Ill., in an all-cash transaction.

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

“We are excited for the opportunity to partner with Colchester State Bank and to improve access to our service in McDonough County and other contiguous market areas,” Robert Ares, president/CEO of Land of Lincoln, said in a prepared statement. “Colchester State Bank is a well-managed bank, and we look forward to welcoming their customers and employees into our family.”

Founded in 1963, CSB’s nine employees run one branch and manage $74 million in deposits and $27 million in loans.

The bank posted $654,000 in net income and $8.1 million in capital, according to its third quarter Call Report.

Pending regulatory and shareholder approvals, the proposed transaction is the industry’s 16th credit union-bank acquisition deal that was announced in 2022, up from the 13 agreements that were announced in 2021.

Though 10 deals from 2021 have been completed, two were called off, including what would have been the credit union industry’s largest bank acquisition of the $1.7 billion Heritage Southeast Bank in Jonesboro, Ga., by the $13.2 billion VyStar Credit Union in Jacksonville, Fla.

In addition, the legality of a third purchase agreement of the $837 million Financial Federal Bank in Memphis by the $1.2 billion Orion Federal Credit Union, also based in Memphis, has been challenged by the state’s regulator, which filed an appeal before a Tennessee court in Nashville to block the deal. The appeals court has not yet made a ruling, according to public filings.