American Heritage CU to Acquire Assets, Membership of 3 N.J. Bank Branches

Officials with the $4.8 billion American Heritage Credit Union announced Friday that it entered into a definite purchase and assumptions agreement with bank holding company LINKBANCORP, Inc. to take over the banking operations of three bank branches in Southern New Jersey.

The three branches were previously part of the Liberty Bell Bank division of The Bank of Delmarva, which merged with LINKBANK as part of the company’s recent merger with Partners Bancorp, according to a statement from LINKBANCORP.

American Heritage will acquire roughly $105 million in deposits and $123 million in loans from the three branches. The three branches are located in the New Jersey communities of Cherry Hill, Marlton and Moorestown – just across the border from the credit union’s Philadelphia headquarters.

In a prepared statement, the credit union’s President/CEO Bruce Foulke said, “The acquisition from LINKBANK underscores our commitment to serving our members with enhanced accessibility and expanded financial offerings. We are excited to expand our products and service offerings further into South Jersey and provide our new members and business partners with the same best-in-class service standards we’ve offered for over 75 years. We look forward to completing this transaction and welcoming our new members to the credit union family.”

For LINKBANK’s CEO, Andrew Samuel, the deal is more about shifting priorities for his organization. “As we continue to execute on initiatives to achieve the operational efficiencies and revenue growth of the Partners combination, we believe this divestiture will enable us to re-allocate capital toward our core Pennsylvania markets and accelerate growth in the robust Northern Virginia and Maryland markets.”

The deal is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approval and, if approved, it’s expected to close sometime in the second half of 2024.