MAX Credit Union to buy Alabama's First Financial Bank

Montgomery-based MAX Credit Union has agreed to buy Bessemer-based First Financial Bank, a unit of FirstFed Bancorp, for an undisclosed cash sum. The deal adds $245 million in assets and eight branches to MAX's $2.3 billion, 16-site footprint and is set to close in 2027.

Why it matters: It is MAX's first bank purchase and the ninth bank acquisition by a credit union cited in the report, extending a steady trend of credit unions buying community banks.