Only Illinois has seen more of its community banks sold to credit unions than Florida since 2020, but that tally got a little closer Tuesday.

In one of the largest CU-bank deals ever announced, MidFlorida Credit Union in Lakeland announced that it has agreed to acquire $924 million-asset Prime Meridian Bank in Tallahassee.

Prime Meridian shareholders will receive $58.50 in cash for each share owned.

The acquisition is expected to close in 2026. The combined company will have $9.5 billion in assets, $7.2 billion in loans, 1,578 employees and 66 branches.

“We recognized the strength in being able to adapt to change, and it is fitting we now find ourselves in a position to bring physical locations to MidFlorida’s operations in the Big Bend area,” said Sammie Dixon, Prime Meridian’s Vice Chairman, President and CEO in a press release.

Prime Meridian operates four Florida branches: two in Tallahassee, one in Crawfordville, and one in Lakeland. The wholly owned subsidiary of Prime Meridian Holding Company has a strong focus on commercial and mortgage lending.

“This acquisition will provide branches in the market to fuel additional growth in both consumer and business banking,” said Steve Moseley, MidFlorida’s President and CEO.

The $8.1 billion-asset MidFlorida said the transaction will also expand its footprint into Florida’s panhandle.

The deal is MidFlorida’s third bank acquisition in the past five years.

In 2019, the credit union agreed to buy Community Bank & Trust of Florida in Ocala and the Florida assets of First American Bank of Iowa. 

Florida has seen 18 banks sold to credit unions all time and eight since 2020. Illinois has been another hotspot for these deals with 15 total and 12 announced since 2020, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.

In 2024, DFCU Financial agreed to buy Winter Park National Bank and ELGA Credit Union struck a deal with Marine Bank.

The MidFlorida/Prime Meridian deal is the fifth announced this year nationwide in which a credit union is buying a bank.

Most recently, Marion and Polk Schools Credit Union announced plans to buy the $342 million-asset Lewis & Clark Bank in Oregon City, Oregon.

There were 22 CU-bank deals announced last year – the most ever. Prior to 2024, the most credit union-buying-bank deals struck in a year was 16 in 2022.

By this time last year, seven credit union-bank deals had already been announced.

In reaction to the deal, the Independent Community Bankers of America Tuesday called on Congress to eliminate the federal tax exemption for credit unions over $1 billion in assets.

“Following last year’s record number of community bank acquisitions by tax-exempt credit unions, the latest deal further demonstrates why the growing skepticism of credit union tax and regulatory exemptions must evolve into policymaker action,” said ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey.

She called MidFlorida “growth obsessed” and said such credit unions have strayed far beyond their founding congressional mandate.

Prime Meridian is the largest bank acquired by a credit union in 2025, and only two of the 22 banks bought by CUs last year were larger. 

MidFlorida has nearly 500,000 members and earned roughly $110 million in 2024, a 10% increase compared to a year earlier, according to call report data from the National Credit Union Administration.

“The opportunities for our employees (all of whom will be retained by MidFlorida), and the expanded resources available to our clients, are huge.”

 – Sammie Dixon
Vice Chairman, President and CEO
Prime Meridian Bank