PLANO, Texas – ViewPoint Bank, known till five years ago as Community CU, announced this morning it is acquiring $500 million Highlands Bancshares in a deal that will both expand its branch network and replace its CEO Gary Base, the former credit union figure who is retiring after running the institution for 25 years.
The deal will give the $3 billion ViewPoint, which is the biggest credit union convert to switch to a bank, six additional branches in its North Texas market, as well as a successor to Base, the one-time chairman of the state’s Credit Union Commission who engineered the giant credit union conversion. ViewPoint said Kevin Hannigan, the president of Highland, will become president and CEO of the ex-credit union.
Base said that Hanigan is the right fit for ViewPoint as it transitions from a thrift to a commercial banking charter. ViewPoint has received approval to switch charters to a commercial bank and said last week that the conversion will become official on Dec. 19. Hanigan's "extensive commercial banking and lending experience should provide a significant boost to our ongoing initiative to enhance and expand our commercial division," Base said.
Community CU’s 2006 conversion to bank, along with that of nearby OmniAmerican CU at the same time, caused great consternation among credit unions and was only completed after a federal court in Texas ruled NCUA had overstepped its authority in trying to block a member vote on the charter switches by both credit unions. Base’s conversion created particular anguish because he was a long-time leader in the Texas credit union movement and was the head of the state commission, which helps write the rules and regulations governing credit unions.
The Community CU conversion deal caused additional concern among opponents to such charter switches when the $1.3 billion credit union-convert launched an initial public stock offering just six months later, enabling officers and directors to quickly cash in on the charter switch and seemingly making conversions more attractive.
Under the terms of the bank deal, ViewPoint will pay about $70 million of its stock to acquire Highland, which is based in nearby Jacksboro, Texas.
