First Community Credit Union agrees to buy Umpqua branches in Oregon

First Community Credit Union in Coquille, Ore., has agreed to purchase three branches from Umpqua Bank in Portland, Ore.

The branches involved in the transaction are located in John Day, Burns and Lakeview, Ore.

“We are excited to expand our services to these wonderful communities,” David Elmer, CEO and president of the $1.2 billion-asset First Community Credit Union, said in a press release last week. “We understand rural Oregon because it’s where most of our members live and work. We are also delighted to welcome the Umpqua Bank employees at these branches to the First Community team.”

The deal is pending regulatory approval and is expected to close in June.

Credit unions have shown an increased interest in buying bank assets in recent years. But at least two of these deals have run into regulatory issues. The Iowa Division of Banking objected to GreenState Credit Union buying seven branches from First American Bank earlier this month, asserting the parties needed to get its approval as well. First American later settled the dispute by paying almost $111,000 to cover the agency’s costs.

Colorado banking regulators blocked Elevations Credit Union from buying the assets of Cache Bank & Trust earlier this year, citing state law that prevents such deals.

First Community serves around 80,000 members with 28 branches in Oregon. It earned around $13 million in 2019, up more than 5% from a year earlier, according to call report data from the National Credit Union Administration.

Umpqua has $28.8 billion in assets and more than 250 offices across five states, according to data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.