SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – Alaska USA FCU, which entered the California market last year by acquiring two failed credit unions, is looking to expand its California network and is reported to be negotiating to buy as many as five branches from ailing Arrowhead Central CU.
Don McCue, senior vice president at $4 billion Alaska USA FCU, yesterday declined to comment on potential branch purchases but said it is looking to expand in its new market after last year’s deals for High Desert FCU and The Members Own CU. “We’re looking at what we can do to grow our footprint in the High Desert region,” he told Credit Union Journal Wednesday.
The two acquisitions gave Alaska’s largest credit union, which also operates service centers in Washington state, a major presence in the region, located east of Los Angeles.
Arrowhead, weighed down by losses of $29 million in 2008 and $45 million last year, has been trimming its operations recently with sale of an insurance CUSO and the closure of four branches last month.
A spokesman for Arrowhead Central CU did not return a phone call seeking comment.