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Less than three months into 2024, the Poughkeepsie, N.Y.-based Hudson Valley Credit Union (HVCU) announced its second bank and bank branch purchase of the year. The most recent purchase agreement involves buying eight branches of the Berkshire Bank located in the Hudson Valley and Capital Regions of eastern New York.
In January, HVCU ($7.1 billion in assets, 357,235 members) announced plans to buy the $592 million Catskill Hudson Bank in Kingston, N.Y., later this year for $28.6 million, the equivalent of 0.40% of its assets as of Dec. 31.The price for the Berkshire branches was not announced. The bank said the sales include $485.5 million in deposits, $60.5 million of related residential mortgage and consumer loans along with all branch premises and equipment. The transactions exclude Berkshire's commercial banking business.
HVCU is purchasing eight locations in Albany, Saratoga, Schenectady and Columbia counties, Glens Falls National Bank and Trust Company is purchasing one location in Whitehall and Pathfinder Bank is purchasing one location in East Syracuse.
HVCU President/CEO Jonathan Roberts said he expects the Berkshire branches sale to be approved by regulators and close by the end of this year's third quarter. Upon completion of the deal, HVCU will have 30 branch locations.
"Hudson Valley Credit Union is pleased to welcome customers and employees from these Berkshire branches to our financial cooperative. We are confident that both will find exciting new ways we can help them achieve financial freedom," said Roberts.
In a statement on HVCU's website, Roberts said he has committed to retaining all of the Berkshire staff as well as making no changes to the credit union's staff.
"One of the benefits of our strong capital position is the ability to take on mergers and acquisitions like this without negatively affecting our pricing. Members will continue to see competitive rates on both deposit and loan products, even as we grow through mergers and acquisitions," HVCU's statement read.
HVCU lost $12.2 million in the fourth quarter (an annualized loss on average assets of -0.70%) as its realized losses on investments sank from $16 million in September to $38 million in December. For the year, its net income was $2.8 million (0.04% ROA). The loss reduced its net worth ratio from 11.97% in September to 11.64% in December.
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Michael Ogden
Editor-in-Chief at CU Times. To connect, email at [email protected]. As Editor-in-Chief of CU Times since 2016, Michael Ogden has led the editorial team in all aspects of content strategy and execution, including the creation of the publication’s exclusive and proprietary research database of the credit union industry’s economic landscape. Under Michael’s leadership, CU Times has successfully shifted to an all-digital editorial product with new focuses on the payments, fraud, lending and regulatory beats. Most recently, he introduced a data-focused editorial product for subscribers that breaks down credit union issues into hard data, allowing for a deeper and more factual narrative for readers. In 2024, he launched the "Shared Accounts With CU Times" podcast, which offers a fresh, inside-the-newsroom perspective through interviews with leaders from the credit union industry and the regulatory world. He dives into pressing credit union issues, while revealing the personalities working behind-the-scenes to push the credit union world forward. His background includes years as a radio and TV anchor/reporter and a public relations and digital/social media manager, where he covered the food and music industries, as well as cooperatives and credit unions. Over the years, he has launched numerous exclusive video and podcast series, including a successful series of interactive backstage interviews with musicians at music festivals, showcasing his social media and live streaming production skills.
