Dive Brief:

• Idaho Falls-based Frontier Credit Union will acquire First Citizens Bank of Butte, the credit union announced Thursday, marking its first expansion into Montana.
• Financial details of the deal were not disclosed, but the transaction is set to close by the end of 2025, the credit union said in a document answering frequently asked questions.
• The transaction would be the sixth whole-bank purchase by a credit union this year — and the third in the past month. MidFlorida Credit Union announced last week it would buy Tallahassee-based Prime Meridian Bank. A week earlier, Salem, Oregon-based Maps Credit Union said it would acquire Oregon City-based Lewis & Clark Bank.

Dive Insight:

Acquiring First Citizens Bank of Butte will add $75 million in assets and a single branch to $700 million-asset Frontier’s footprint.

But crossing the border into Big Sky Country holds personal significance to Frontier CEO Dan Thurman.

“Having grown up in Dillon, it’s a dream having this chance to share Frontier with my home state,” Thurman said. “We’re not just expanding our footprint — we’re extending our mission of helping people build better lives. We can’t wait to be a part of the fabric here in Butte and serve this great community.”

The combined entity will expand to 16 locations with the acquisition, and Thurman will remain CEO. Frontier said it “do[es] not anticipate significant staffing changes” as a result of the transaction.

First Citizens, meanwhile, will gain access to expanded product offerings, including advanced digital banking tools and quick online loan applications, the credit union said.

“This transaction brings tremendous opportunities for our customers and employees,” Casey Reilly, First Citizens’ CEO said. “It’s a natural fit — I’m excited our customers will be in the hands of someone who knows what makes Montana special. They know our community, share our values, and appreciate the uniqueness of Butte.”

Bank acquisitions by credit unions have incited the rancor of trade groups such as the Independent Community Bankers of America, which argues that credit unions’ tax exemption allows them to offer a higher purchase price for small or struggling banks than other competing banks would.

Credit unions proposed a record 22 whole-bank acquisitions in 2024. This year’s numbers, by comparison, are off pace. The sixth credit union-whole bank tie-up announcement of last year came in early March, rather than early May.

“It is time for the increasing criticism of credit union tax and regulatory exemptions to finally result in policymaker action,” ICBA CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey said Friday in a statement. “As credit unions continue to stray far beyond their founding congressional mandate of serving people of modest means with a defined field of membership, such as those with the same church or employer, consumers increasingly support reforms to credit union policies.”