Community First Credit Union of Florida announced an agreement Nov. 18 to buy a Waycross, Georgia-based commercial bank in a deal that will expand the credit union beyond Northeast Florida.
Jacksonville-based Community First is buying all of the assets and liabilities of First Southern Bank, which is owned by Bradenton-based holding company FSBH Corp.
The addition of First Southern’s four Georgia and three Florida branches will give Community First 31 offices in Florida and Georgia and about $3.3 billion in assets.
Community First said it expects to complete the deal in the second or third quarter of 2026, subject to required regulatory approvals as well as approval from FSBH shareholders.
“There is a long history of these transactions in the Southeast, there is over a decade of precedential transactions. Community First has confidence in the acquisition because of both institutions’ exceptionally strong financial positions," Community First CEO Sam Inman said by email.
Shareholders of FSBH will receive about $17.14 in cash for each of their shares.
The company is listed in the OTC Pink Sheets and is traded infrequently, with the last trade coming at $10 a share in September, according to Yahoo Finance.
FSBH listed 3 million shares outstanding in its 2024 annual report, making the value of the deal about $51 million.
When the acquisition is completed, FSBH will dissolve and distribute its remaining assets to its stockholders.
The deal could face regulatory scrutiny as commercial bank trade groups have strongly opposed bank acquisitions by credit unions, saying credit unions have an advantage in pricing deals because of their tax-free status.
One example of that opposition was Jacksonville-based VyStar Credit Union’s March 2021 agreement to buy Jonesboro, Georgia-based Heritage Southeast Bancorporation Inc.
Regulatory agencies sat on the merger application for months amid opposition from commercial bank groups, and VyStar and Heritage called off the deal in June 2022.
The pace of credit union acquisitions of banks has slowed down since then.
According to an October report by CreditUnions.com, seven credit unions have reached agreements this year to acquire commercial banks, down from 17 in 2024.
This story has been undated with additional information from Community First.