OBL Pulls Out All the Stops to Oppose Interra-Hicksville Transaction

06/10/26

The Ohio Bankers League continues to pursue every available avenue to oppose the proposed acquisition of The Hicksville Bank by Indiana-based Interra Credit Union. This week, OBL representatives traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet directly with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and urge the agency to deny the application. During the meeting, OBL outlined a broad range of legal, regulatory, and public policy concerns raised by the transaction and emphasized that this proposal is far from a routine merger or acquisition. Rather, it would eliminate a well-capitalized, FDIC-insured, CRA-covered Ohio community bank and transfer its customers, deposits, and franchise value to a privately insured, tax-exempt credit union.

OBL's message to federal regulators focused on the significant public-interest implications of the transaction. Among the concerns raised were the loss of FDIC insurance protections for current bank customers, the elimination of Community Reinvestment Act obligations in the affected communities, unresolved questions regarding customer eligibility under Interra's field of membership, the potential disruption of public deposit relationships, and the broader precedent that would be established if healthy community banks can be acquired and removed from the banking system by tax-exempt credit unions. OBL also stressed that Hicksville is not a troubled institution requiring rescue but rather a viable community bank serving northwest Ohio and northeast Indiana. Approving the transaction would allow a tax-exempt institution to acquire a tax-paying bank and remove that institution from the federal banking, CRA, and tax frameworks that govern community banks today.

At the state level, OBL was pleased to support a resolution adopted today by the Ohio Banking Commission urging the FDIC to deny approval of the transaction. The resolution raises substantial concerns regarding Ohio law, charter integrity, competitive equity, tax fairness, deposit insurance protections, and the long-term strength of Ohio's banking system. The Commission specifically noted that Ohio's bank merger and asset transfer statutes authorize transactions involving banks, savings institutions, and federal savings associations, but do not authorize Ohio state-chartered banks to transfer substantially all of their assets and liabilities to credit unions. The resolution further warns that allowing tax-exempt credit unions to acquire tax-paying Ohio banks would permanently remove institutions from Ohio's tax base while undermining the balance established by Ohio's financial institution laws.

The Commission also highlighted concerns that Hicksville depositors would be moved from an FDIC-insured institution to a privately insured credit union and reaffirmed that Ohio's financial marketplace should be governed by principles of safety and soundness, fairness, transparency, charter integrity, deposit protection, community accountability, and equal responsibility. Importantly, the resolution concludes that public policy should not permit tax-exempt financial institutions to use their preferential tax status to acquire tax-paying competitors and remove those institutions from Ohio's banking system.

OBL remains fully engaged in this matter and will continue advocating before state and federal regulators, policymakers, and other stakeholders. The proposed Interra-Hicksville transaction is about far more than a single institution. The outcome will help determine whether tax-exempt credit unions can continue using their preferential status to acquire and eliminate tax-paying community banks, or whether regulators will uphold the legal and public-policy distinctions that have long governed the nation's dual banking system. OBL will keep members informed as developments occur.