When 4Front Credit Union announced in late December that it would purchase Horizon Bank’s Charlevoix branch, the transaction was modest in scale but significant in symbolism.

It marked another step in a broader shift in American finance, as credit unions — once tightly bound by geography and mission — increasingly step into roles long occupied by community banks.

Headquartered in Traverse City, Mich., 4Front has spent the past several years expanding both its footprint and its financial performance.

The credit union earned $5.6 million in the first three quarters of 2025, more than double the $2.2 million it reported during the same period a year earlier, according to data from the National Credit Union Administration. That growth has coincided with a strategy of deepening its presence in northern Michigan communities rather than chasing rapid, far-flung expansion.

The Charlevoix transaction reflects that approach. Under the purchase agreement, 4Front will assume Horizon Bank’s branch at 1425 Bridge Street, welcoming the bank’s local customers and employees into its membership. Horizon Bancorp, the $6.7 billion-asset holding company for Horizon Bank, is exiting the location, while 4Front plans to maintain continuity for customers during the transition.

“We are pleased to have Horizon Bank’s Charlevoix customers and employees join 4Front Credit Union,” Andy Kempf, the credit union’s chief executive, said in a statement announcing the deal. “For nearly 70 years, our commitment has been to serve the Charlevoix community with stability, innovation, and genuine local focus. This transition strengthens our ability to continue providing high quality financial services for both existing and incoming members.”

For now, 4Front’s existing Charlevoix branch at 1031 May Street will remain open. Once renovations are completed at the former Horizon facility, the Charlevoix branch team will relocate there, consolidating operations into a single location. The credit union said the move is designed to preserve locally based financial services in the area, a point of emphasis as small-town branches across the country continue to close.

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Founded more than 70 years ago, 4Front today serves more than 105,000 members and manages over $1 billion in assets across 20 locations. Membership is open to anyone who lives, works, worships or attends school in Michigan, a broad field that has enabled steady organic growth alongside acquisitions.

The Charlevoix purchase follows a more traditional bank acquisition in 2023, when 4Front bought Old Mission Bank, a $130 million-asset institution that had served the Eastern Upper Peninsula for more than two decades. That deal signaled the credit union’s willingness to absorb entire banking franchises when opportunities aligned with its regional focus.

Elsewhere in Michigan, another transaction recently reached its conclusion, further highlighting the pace of credit union–bank consolidation. Gogebic Range Bank of Ironwood, the banking arm of West End Financial Corp., was acquired by Zeal Credit Union of Livonia after receiving regulatory approval on Dec. 29, 2025. On Jan. 1, 2026, Gogebic Range Bank’s customers officially became members of Zeal Credit Union.

While smaller than some of the headline-grabbing mergers in the financial sector, the Zeal-Gogebic deal carries particular weight in the Upper Peninsula, where access to locally rooted financial institutions is often limited by geography and population. The completion of the transaction ensures continuity for customers while transferring the bank’s operations into a cooperative structure.

Together, the 4Front and Zeal transactions fit into a national pattern that has accelerated over the past two years. Sixteen credit union–bank acquisitions were announced in 2025, slightly fewer than the record 22 in 2024 but still far above historical norms. For many credit unions, acquiring bank branches or entire institutions has become a faster way to gain deposits, expand lending and enter new markets than building branches from scratch.

Critics, particularly within the banking industry, argue that such deals blur the line between tax-exempt credit unions and for-profit banks. Supporters counter that the transactions are voluntary, preserve local access to financial services and offer consumers additional choices.

In Michigan, at least, the momentum shows little sign of slowing. For 4Front, the Charlevoix branch purchase represents an incremental but meaningful extension of its presence, reinforcing its strategy of growth anchored close to home.

And with the Zeal-Gogebic transaction now complete, credit unions continue to play an expanding role in defining the future of community banking across the state.