Seminole Tribe Withdraws Agreement to Buy Mackinac

The Seminole Tribe of Florida has withdrawn its agreement to buy Mackinac Savings Bank in Boynton Beach, Fla., and may instead try to open a credit union.

The agreement with Mackinac, announced in September, would have created Florida's only Native American-owned bank. The Seminole Tribe's president, Tony Sanchez, said in a statement to the Palm Beach Post on Friday that buying a bank would have not been a good fit because its tribal members "would have faced expanded lending restrictions under banking regulations."

The Seminole Tribe in June attempted to buy Valley Bank in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., but subsequently dropped that plan. In 2000, the tribe offered $6 million to buy Independent Community Bank in Tequesta, Fla., but the deal never closed, the Palm Beach Post said.

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