BALTIMORE—Municipal Employees CU of Baltimore has moved one step closer to acquiring Baltimore-based Advance Bank, as NCUA yesterday approved the deal.
With the OCC having already OK’d the acquisition, the $1.2 billion MECU now awaits approvals from state regulators and the FDIC.
“We expect that to come within the next two weeks, if not sooner,” said Michael Bell, attorney and counselor with Royal-Oak, Mich.-based Howard & Howard, who noted that bank shareholders approving the deal will be the final step.
“NCUA really moved efficiently and their approval came more quickly than the previous deals I have worked on,” added Bell. “This is the first CU/bank acquisition NCUA’s Region II has worked on and they were very responsive throughout the process.”
MECU is the fourth CU/bank acquisition Bell has been part of. He played a key role in engineering the first credit union purchase of a stock-owned bank when Gardner, Mass.-based GFA FCU completed the purchase of Monadnock Community Bank, Peterborough, N.H., in 2013. Bell also represented Michigan's United FCU two years ago when it became the first CU to acquire a bank, purchasing Griffith Savings Bank in Indiana. He is currently working with Dothan, Ala.-based Five Star CU to pick up Flint River National Bank in Camilla, Ga.
With Wisconsin's Landmark CU acquiring Hartford Savings Bank earlier this year, overall, five credit unions have either completed bank purchases or are in the process of closing deals.
