Credit unions

Texas Dow Employees Credit Union has agreed to acquire Sabine State Bank and Trust in Louisiana to raise its profile in the oil-and-gas industry. The deal coincides with record levels of U.S. drilling this year.

In this month's roundup of top banking news: Navy Federal Credit Union officially launches its overseas banking program, Republic First Bank in Philadelphia falls to capital troubles and investor outrage, deeper looks at talks between Discover and Capital One and more.

Michigan State University Federal Credit Union is working with the relationship-based lending app Zirtue to offer members a tool for outlining lending agreements and repayment plans.

Leaders of ORNL Federal Credit Union are piloting Zest AI's new artificial intelligence-powered assistant to ensure equitable underwriting practices and measure performance against similar institutions.

Bellwether Community Credit Union's partnership with the New York ad tech firm Prizeout is working to build out gift card programs and generate added sources of non-interest income.

Launched last July, FedNow had enrolled more than 600 participants by mid-March, according to government officials. That marked a 100% increase from the start of the year, with more banks and credit unions viewing fast payments capabilities as essential. Fraud concerns linger, however.

Kinecta Wealth Management, the wealth arm of Kinecta Federal Credit Union, will switch firms by the end of the year.

The Ann Arbor, Michigan-based fintech is working with two Michigan credit unions to pilot a service that allows consumers to jointly save for purchases.

The $12.1 billion-asset DCU launched the loan platform in 2022, and has seen volume jump by close to $600 million from when talks began in 2019 to last year.

The $171 billion-asset Navy Federal Credit Union began operating roughly 60 locations and more than 270 ATMs as part of the Overseas Military Banking Program this month. The contract was awarded in September of last year, but faced federal deposit insurance challenges and industry pushback from credit unions and banks alike.