Illinois credit union buying second bank in recent months

Adobe Stock

Land of Lincoln Credit Union in Decatur, Illinois, has agreed to acquire Nokomis Savings Bank, also in Illinois.

It is only the second deal announced this year in which a credit union is buying a bank. There were 16 credit union deals for banks announced in 2022.

Financial terms of the Land of Lincoln-Nokomis deal were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2024, the credit union said in a press release Friday. 

Robert Ares, president and CEO of the $457 million-asset Land of Lincoln, said the deal would expand the credit union's presence in Montgomery County and other contiguous market areas. 

"This acquisition is part of Land of Lincoln's strategic growth plan, which includes adding branches and markets to better assist our members throughout Illinois," he said in the press release.

The $27 million-asset Nokomis has been in operation for more than 100 years.

It's the second bank deal for Land of Lincoln since late last year. In December, the credit union announced it had agreed to acquire Colchester State Bank in Colchester, Illinois. That deal is expected to close in the current quarter. 

Credit unions

The polarizing question of credit unions buying banks

March 31, 2023 7:00 AM

The first credit union-bank deal announced this year was an agreement by 4Front Credit Union in Traverse City, Michigan, to buy Old Mission Bank in Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan.

Land of Lincoln reported net income of $772,000 in the first three months of 2023, a 12% decrease from a year earlier, according to call report data from the National Credit Union Administration.

Nokomis Savings Bank reported a loss of $308,000 in the first quarter, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data. 

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation issued a consent order against Nokomis on March 21. It consented to the order without admitting or denying any charges of unsafe or unsound banking practices. The bank's board agreed within 60 days to submit a written strategic and profitability plan to the FDIC's Chicago office and Illinois regulators.