Pub. 18 2021 Issue 2

10 TIME’S UP: CONGRESS MUST STOP CREDIT UNION PURCHASES OF TAXPAYING BANKS ROB NICHOLS PRESIDENT AND CEO AMERICAN BANKERS ASSOCIATION ABA will continue its advocacy against these types of mergers – as we did in a recent letter to the OCC, highlighting the particular threat they pose to the mutual bank business model. WASHINGTON UPDATE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT: NMBANKERS.COM A fter tapering off during the pandemic, the trend of credit unions buying taxpaying community banks is back – and credit unions are becoming more aggressive than ever in their pursuit of acquisition targets. The first half of 2021 has already seen two precedent-shattering deals: Jacksonville, Florida-based VyStar Credit Union’s acquisition of a $1.6 billion Georgia bank is by far the largest purchase of a bank purchase by a credit union to date. And more recently, the announcement by Iowa-based Green State Credit Union that it would simultaneously acquire not one but two community banks in the Midwest. Acquisitions like these are bad for taxpayers, a bad deal for communities, and a bad deal for consumers. They erode state and federal tax bases at a fundamental level, diverting funds away from essential infrastructure projects and other government initiatives. Perhaps even more egregiously, in the case of VyStar – which paid an 80%