ARIZONA FEDERAL CREDIT UNION FINALIZES HISTORIC ACQUISITION
In today’s corporate world you might think there is some sort of animosity between credit unions and banks. However, if you ask Bo Hughes, Executive Vice President and Chief Risk Officer of Arizona Federal Credit Union, you’d be surprised. “Historically, it's very easy for banks and credit unions to feel like they're in direct competition with each other in an adversarial position. What I've learned from this interaction and the integration of these two teams is that we have far more in common than we ever realized.”
On November 30th, 2019, Arizona Federal Credit Union officially acquired the Scottsdale-based bank, Pinnacle Bank in a historic merger between the two organizations. This is the first time a credit union has bought a bank in Arizona and it was the seventh transaction of its kind in 2019. Hughes was with Pinnacle Bank before being acquired by Arizona Federal Credit Union, and expressed excitement about the opportunities for the credit union to offer to Arizona moving forward.
In a letter sent to their clients, Pinnacle Bank’s President/CEO, Michael J. Thorell, formally announced the acquisition. “It is with great excitement that I announce to you our intent to merge our bank with Arizona Federal Credit Union, as part of a strategic acquisition between the two financial institutions – the first of its kind in Arizona history. The transaction will be structured with Arizona Federal purchasing all of the assets and assuming all of the liabilities of Pinnacle Bank.”
Left to Right: Jason Paprocki AZ Federal’s Executive Vice President/COO, Bo Hughes Pinnacle’s Executive Vice President/Chief Risk Officer, Rachel Galvez AZ Federal’s Marketing Partnerships Manager, Justine Bibb Pinnacle’s Business Services Officer
We recently sat down with members from both organizations to get a feel of how they were handling the merger. Unanimously, everyone has been very excited and have given each other a lot of support during this transition. Pinnacle Bank’s Business Service Officer, Justine Bibb describes a very team-oriented environment, “You know over the days of our legal acquisition date, it’s been nothing but a super awesome support system. We thought we had a great support system before; we didn’t realize we were going to have so much more after the fact.” The merger occurred without a single position being eliminated from either company, showing Arizona Federal’s commitment to maintaining strong company culture.
Not only will the two parties gain a lot from this merger, but the two organizations are trying to build off one another to benefit the community. While discussing the customer loyalty Pinnacle Bank had garnered over the years, it became apparent that by merging these companies, they would be able to provide the community greater benefits than they did separately. “Seeing what great connections they've already developed within the community and kind of what Arizona federal had started building off of, we’re really trying to make that connection to our local community and how we can better support them”, Arizona Federal’s Marketing Partnerships Manager, Rachel Galvez shared.
How will this merger benefit the community? Well for one, Arizona Federal will be converting four Pinnacle Bank branches into new Business & Home Loan Centers; this will give their clients sixteen locations around the Valley for their financing needs. As an Arizona Federal member, people will have access to additional home loan services, expanded small business services, commercial lending services, and SBA financing options. This is something to be excited about as most other credit unions don’t have the ability to issue small business loans. Former Pinnacle Bank members will now have greater access to expanded consumer services such as savings, loans, insurance, credit cards, investments, and a buffed up online banking portal.
We’re very excited about the partnership of these two great companies and we look forward to seeing how they will further benefit our community. If you’d like to hear the full interview that we conducted with AZ Federal and Pinnacle, be sure to check out the soundbite below.
Sources
LFA’s AZ Federal/Pinnacle Bank Interview