LAKE JACKSON, Texas—The $4.7-billion TDECU has agreed to buy the $1.2-billion Sabine State Bank and Trust, based in Many, La., the CU reported.
If the deal is finalized, the combination will mark one of the largest CU bank buys to date. The transaction is expected to be completed in early 2025, subject to receiving all regulatory approvals and other closing conditions. The price of the deal was not disclosed.
The move, TDECU said, is aimed largely at increasing its commercial banking opportunities in Texas and Louisiana. The combined institution will serve 471,000 members.
TDECU, which has 10.05% net worth, made $32.8 million in net income last year, and $34.2 million in 2022, according to Call Report data. Sabine made $35.3 million in 2023, according to FDIC data.
Growth Journey
“TDECU is on a growth journey to expand across the state of Texas and beyond,” President and CEO Isaac Johnson in a statement. “Our mission is helping people navigate their financial journeys, and be financial solvers for our members’ everyday needs. This acquisition extends our reach to more communities, diversifies our commercial portfolio, and makes our balance sheet even stronger. If our balance sheet is stronger, that will enable TDECU to continue to deliver and do more for our existing members. Together, we will strengthen ties with our membership, partners, and local communities.”
Founded more than 100 years ago, Sabine State Bank and Trust has a footprint of 51 branches in western Louisiana and east Texas. It specializes in commercial loans with industry concentration in oil and gas, agriculture, and energy, TDECU said.
The credit union further said Sabine has long-standing depository relationships with municipalities (cities and parishes) and other public institutions including school districts, fire districts and law enforcement agencies.
“We are excited to become a part of the TDECU family and we share their commitment to strengthening our communities and empowering our customers to build better financial futures,” Lee H. McCann, president and CEO of Sabine State Bank and Trust, said in a statement. “Our customers can be rest assured that they will continue to experience the best-in-class service they count on from us. Best of all, that service will be enhanced with an even wider array of financial products to help them better secure their futures.”
Interest Growing
The pioneer of credit union purchases of banks, Michael Bell, said the large transaction is a strong indication of the increasing level of interest in banks selling to CUs.
“More and more community banks are voluntarily choosing to do a transaction with their fellow community based institutions, credit unions,” said Bell, a partner and chair of the Financial Institutions Practice Group at Honigman.
Bell has been part of more than 50 whole-bank agreements, plus additional bank branch purchases.
Daily News Headlines. To Your Inbox. Every Day. And It’s Free
The biggest, best and freshest news reporting in credit unions remains free, and now has an added bonus---free shipping to your email address! That’s right. Each morning CUToday.info delivers its daily Fresh Today news update offering the latest headlines and breaking news right to your email, with the easy-to-read headlines format allowing you to click on the stories that interest you most in order to learn more. So stop paying those bank-fee-like subscription prices from other so-called “news” publications!
If you haven’t yet signed up for the new email solution on which CUToday.info has partnered with ResponseGenius, you can do so here. Signing up requires less than one minute of your time—and it’s free!
Please note that after signing up you may need to go to your Spam/Junk folder and mark the morning headlines email as safe. CUToday.info does not provide its list of readers and emails to outside parties, and we will not be contacting you to sell you an extended warranty or sending you any links so you may cash in on an inheritance.
And did we mention it’s free?