Marine Credit Union buying 10 Wisconsin branches from Old National Bank

Marine Credit Union is continuing its Wisconsin expansion with plans to buy 10 branches in the western part of the state from Old National Bank.

La Crosse-based Marine expects to add $274 million in deposits when the deal, which needs regulatory approval, closes in the third quarter of this year.

Financial terms of the transaction weren't disclosed.

The acquisition of the Old National branches will give Marine 31 branches in the state, up from 10 a decade ago. Last year, Old National bought five branches from Bank Mutual Corp.

“As a mission-focused credit union, we strive to make life better for those around us: our members, our employees and our communities," Shawn Hanson, chief executive officer of Marine Credit Union, said in a statement. "This acquisition furthers our growth strategy and aligns with our mission. We look forward to welcoming our new employees and new customers as members of Marine Credit Union.”

All 42 employees of the Old National branches are expected to become Marine employees, and about 16,000 customers of Old National can become members of Marine. 

Credit unions are like banks in many ways, but they are financial cooperatives owned by their members instead of by stockholders.

The branches Marine plans to acquire are in Chippewa Falls, Columbus, Dodgeville, Eau Claire, Lancaster, Monroe, New Glarus, Platteville, Prairie du Chien and Stanley. The branches will put Marine in seven new markets in Wisconsin.

Marine Credit Union has offices in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa. In southeast Wisconsin, it has branches in Milwaukee, Menomonee Falls, Pewaukee, Wauwatosa, Kenosha and Racine.

La Crosse's Advantage Credit Union merged with Fond du Lac's Marine in 2006 to form the current Marine Credit Union. It has more than $755 million in assets.

Len Devaisher, regional CEO for Old National, said the sale of the branches in western Wisconsin fits with the bank's strategy of focusing on the Madison, Milwaukee and Fox Valley markets. Old National will retain loans generated from the branches it's selling, however.

"It really for us is a matter of being able to concentrate our capital and our focus on our other Wisconsin markets," Devaisher said in an interview Tuesday. 

Evansville, Ind.-based Old National, which moved into the Wisconsin market for the first time in 2016 with the $461 million purchase of Madison's Anchor BanCorp Wisconsin Inc., plans to open a branch in downtown Milwaukee by the end of the year. That would give Old National a total of 30 branches in Wisconsin, assuming it has sold the 10 branches to Marine by then.