Pierce County-based credit union to acquire regional bank, expanding western WA reach
A Lakewood-based credit union with long ties to the area announced a planned acquisition Friday set to grow the institution.
Harborstone Credit Union announced it had entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Mount Vernon-based SaviBank and its parent holding company, Savi Financial Corporation, Inc.
Harborstone is purchasing Savi’s assets and will assume its liabilities, according to the announcement, in a deal approved by the boards of both financial institutions.
“Following the completion of the transaction, SaviBank and Savi Financial will each dissolve and liquidate and distribute its remaining assets to its stockholders,” Friday’s news release stated.
It is set to be Harborstone’s second planned bank purchase, following an acquisition announced last year of Seattle-based First Sound Bank. That deal is expected to close in the second quarter of this year.
The timeline for the Harborstone-SaviBank deal is projected to close in the fourth quarter of 2024, “subject to receiving all regulatory approvals, approval by stockholders of Savi Financial, and other customary closing conditions,” the release stated.
After completion of both SaviBank and First Sound Bank deals, Harborstone says it will hold “approximately $2.7 billion in assets, $2 billion in loans, $2.3 billion in shares and deposits and will have 27 branches located throughout Skagit, Whatcom, Island, San Juan, King, Pierce, and Thurston counties.”
Consumers with SaviBank accounts will become Harborstone credit union members.
Harborstone was keen on this deal, it added, to grow its business particularly in the Skagit County-area market, among other benefits.
“The wisdom of Harborstone Credit Union’s leadership over the past decade has enabled us to both purchase SaviBank with cash that we have saved just for this purpose and to remain very well capitalized,” Geoff Bullock, Harborstone president and CEO, said in a statement.
Michal Cann, chairman and president of Savi Financial Corp., said his institution looked forward to working with Harborstone, “and (we) believe that the additional services, products and locations Harborstone Credit Union provides will help us continue to meet the financial needs of our customers.”
Harborstone launched in 1955 as McChord Federal Credit Union, according to the credit union’s history on its website, serving airmen at then-McChord Air Force Base. Each member at that time owned one, $5 share of the credit union, according to the website. It changed its name in 1996 and opened membership to all Washington residents.
Harborstone has grown to more than 88,000 members and has approximately $1.9 billion in total assets, along with 15 branches across King, Pierce, and Thurston counties..
SaviBank launched April 11, 2005, and has 10 branches in Anacortes, Burlington, Bellingham, Concrete, Mount Vernon, Oak Harbor, Freeland, Sedro-Woolley and Friday Harbor. It also has a mortgage office in Olympia. SaviBank provides loan and deposit services, and its customers primarily are small to middle-market businesses and individuals in and around Skagit, Island, Whatcom and San Juan counties, according to the company’s biography.
