Dive Brief:
- Atlanta-based Georgia’s Own Credit Union will submit a proposal to merge with Kingsland, Georgia-based United 1st Credit Union, according to a press release Wednesday.
- Georgia’s Own is Georgia's third-largest credit union by asset size. If the deal is approved, Georgia’s Own would count over $3.6 billion in assets.
- The transaction would mark the second such deal completed by Georgia’s Own in recent months, after merging with fellow Atlanta-based Fort McPherson Credit Union on Oct. 1.
Dive Insight:
Georgia’s Own Credit Union is kicking off the new year with ambitions to grow by consolidation. A merger with United 1st would expand its reach into the southeastern part of the state.
Georgia’s Own, which boasts 30 locations, said it serves more than 200,000 members.
A merger with United 1st would add six branches, roughly 26,000 members and $243 million in assets under management to that total.
“It would be an honor to welcome the members and employees of United 1st to the Georgia’s Own family,” Dave Preter, the CEO of Georgia’s Own, said Wednesday. “United 1st Credit Union has a long history of putting their members first and have become an integral part of their community through providing top-of-the-line financial services and meaningful outreach.”
Georgia’s Own intends to retain all of United 1st Credit Union's employees, according to the press release.
Georgia’s Own closed a similar — albeit smaller — deal on Oct. 1, when it merged with the $27.8 million Fort McPherson Credit Union.
Fort McPherson encompassed six employees operating one branch, and served roughly 4,000 members, according to the Credit Union Times.
The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) approved 40 mergers in the last quarter of 2021, up from 37 in 2020's comparable three-month span. The year saw 161 credit union mergers, up from 130 in 2020.
