Georgia's Own aims to be first credit union in its state to buy a bank

Georgia’s Own Credit Union in Atlanta has agreed to buy State Bank of Georgia in Fayetteville.

The parties said the transaction marks the first time a credit union chartered in Georgia has lined up an acquisition of a Georgia state-chartered bank. They did not disclose the price.

The $2.3 billion-asset credit union said the deal, which will be structured as an asset purchase, should close in the second quarter.

“We are thrilled that State Bank of Georgia has chosen to partner with Georgia’s Own, as we feel their extremely high standards of service and commitment to member prosperity so perfectly complement those of our own,” Dave Preter, Georgia's Own's president and CEO, said in a press release.

“It is evident in the relationships that they’ve established with their customers, their employees, and the Fayetteville community that they will be an invaluable piece of our growth as we continue to expand our operations across the state," Preter added.

In connection with the deal, State Bank of Georgia will wind down its operations; the bank's customers will have the opportunity to become members of the credit union.

“We are excited to bring our valued customers the opportunity to bank with Georgia’s Own, in addition to making available more extensive loan options, lower loan rates, higher deposit yields and a broader service platform,” Lacy Curry, State Bank of Georgia's acting chairman, said in the release.

The combination will provide “significant synergies, scalability and other benefits to our community and customers,” Curry added.

“This will be the first deal for a Georgia state-chartered credit union,” said Michael Bell, a lawyer at Howard & Howard who advised Georgia's Own. “Past deals have been done in Alabama and Florida, and have even involved the purchase of a Georgia bank by an Alabama credit union.”

Bell said he expects to announce at least one more similar deal in the Southeast before the end of this year.

Georgia’s Own reported net income of about $8 million last year.

This article originally appeared in Credit Union Journal.
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