Jacksonville, Florida-based Community First Credit Union of Florida will buy Waycross, Georgia-based First Southern Bank, creating a $3.3 billion-asset institution, the credit union announced Tuesday.
The deal, which would extend the credit union’s footprint into southeast Georgia and elsewhere into Florida, is the second CU-bank tie-up announced this week, after El Paso, Texas-based GECU proposed buying Roswell, New Mexico-based Bank of the Southwest on Monday.
“While we love the growth opportunities that come with the transaction, this acquisition is founded on a unified vision between Community First and First Southern Bank,” Sam Inman, CEO of Community First, said in a prepared statement. “Both institutions emphasize a community-oriented and relationship-based approach, maintaining a culture that respects individuals and prioritizes service excellence.”
Both institutions are storied: Community First is 90 years old. First Southern is 118 years old.
The transaction, which has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both institutions, is expected to close in the second or third quarter of 2026. After that, First Southern’s holding company will liquidate, dissolve and distribute any remaining assets to its stockholders.
The new Community First will count roughly $2.5 billion in loans and $2.9 billion in deposits across 31 branches.
“First Southern Bank customers will continue to see their trusted familiar banker at each location,” said First Southern CEO Daniel Hager in a prepared statement. “The newly combined institution will have the ability to offer highly personalized financial services, which will enable us the financial capabilities to support further expansion.”
Community First plans to retain all First Southern employees, stretching its headcount to 530.
“Combining will expand services and strengthen community impact,” Community First said in a Q&A on its website.
Tie-ups between credit unions and banks are not without challengers. Independent Community Bankers of America CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey released a statement Tuesday calling for policymakers “to address the harmful impact these deals have on local communities.”
Citing ICBA data, Rainey said the deals harm “small businesses and local communities while community banks outperform credit unions in high-poverty areas.”
She called for Congress to eliminate the federal tax exemption for credit unions with more than $1 billion in assets. More than 80% of deals since 2010 have involved credit unions of that size, ICBA found. Four in 10 deals have involved a credit union headquartered in a different state than the acquired bank.
Small Business Administration lending fell almost 80% at community banks that were acquired by credit unions, according to ICBA, and the amount loaned per approved mortgage application at the institutions decreased 61%.
Michael Bell, a partner at Honigman who often architects such deals – including this one – told Banking Dive that ICBA’s statements are without “substance.”
“The ICBA equates size to evil for some reason,” he said. “I ask the ICBA, is a $1 billion community bank still a community bank? Should all community banks larger than $1 billion give up the many tax subsidies enjoyed by community banks?”
