Massachusetts Credit Union Completes Buy of Maryland’s Peoples Bank, Insurance

Massachusetts-based Hanscom Federal Credit Union reported it closed on its previously announced purchase of The Peoples Bank in Maryland, following receipt of all regulatory and shareholder approvals.

In its 2024 annual report, Peoples Bank said the purchase price would be $50 million.

With the closing of the transaction, Hanscom has approximately $2.1 billion in total assets, serves more than 115,000 members, and operates 23 branches across Massachusetts, Maryland, and Virginia.

The transaction includes Fleetwood Insurance Group, a subsidiary of The Peoples Bank, which operates from locations in Kent County and Talbot County. This segment’s personal and business product lines include property, casualty, life, marine, long-term care, and health insurance.

The transaction marks Hanscom’s official entry into Maryland and Washington, D.C. The credit union said it plans to explore expansion to other markets in the region.

Peoples Bank will now operate as Peoples Powered by Hanscom Federal Credit Union.

Hanscom said it has retained all of the bank’s employees as part of the acquisition.

The transaction was structured as a purchase and assumption of the majority of Peoples Bank’s assets and liabilities in an all-cash transaction.

A former credit union regulator, Chip Filson, has questioned whether the deal is in the best interests of the member-owners of HFCU. In his blog, Just a Member, Filson wrote:

“The bottom line is that the 619 bank shareholders are getting a good deal. We can see why they would want this sale to go through. The question is whether this transaction is in the best interest of the member-owners of Hanscom FCU. Their $50 million cash outlay to the bank’s owners is 22 times the credit union’s 2024 net income.”

Topics Massachusetts Maryland