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Achieva Credit Union, based in Dunedin, FL, has gained the final federal and state approvals to complete its acquisition of Calusa Bank, a state-chartered bank in Sarasota and Charlotte counties that holds $165 million in assets. This is the first acquisition of a bank by a credit union in Florida, and the seventh nationally. The merger now brings Achieva’s total number of branches to 24 and total assets close to $1.4 billion.
With the approval process now complete, the conversion of Calusa branches into Achieva locations is underway. Calusa has four branches in North Port, Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda, and Venice that will now become Achieva branches along with all of the members.
Under the terms of the merger agreement, Achieva will purchase all of the issued and outstanding shares of Calusa Bank, making this the first “whole bank” acquisition by a credit union. This is unique because previous transactions between credit unions and banks were all structured as purchase and assumption of only a majority of the assets and deposits.
“The transaction process has gone just as smoothly as we could have wished,” said Achieva Chief Executive Officer Gary Regoli in a news release. “This helps broaden our reach, and it follows the Achieva strategy of growing smartly into areas where we can provide the tremendous benefits of Achieva to new members. We are looking forward to becoming a stronger partner in each of these communities because community involvement and leadership is a big part of the Achieva ethos.”
“It was immediately evident that Achieva’s service culture and attention to the customer was in lockstep with ours, giving us assurance that our customers will continue to receive the unparalleled level of service they have come to expect,” said Lew Albert Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Calusa.
