FDIC oks merger of Thrivent Federal Credit Union into new, online Thrivent Bank, also approved for federal deposit insurance

The federal bank deposit insurer announced dual actions Friday which allow the creation and federal deposit insurance coverage for a new industrial bank in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the merger into that new bank of a similarly named federal credit union that is based in Appleton, Wisconsin.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) said Friday that its board approved a deposit insurance application submitted by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans (TFL) based in Minneapolis – through its wholly owned subsidiary Thrivent Financial Holdings – to create Thrivent Bank, a newly chartered industrial bank headquartered in Salt Lake City.

It said the FDIC Board also approved a companion application filed by TFL to merge Thrivent Federal Credit Union (TFCU) of Appleton, Wis., into Thrivent Bank. It said the board’s approval for deposit insurance requires Thrivent Bank to be established within 12 months.

Thrivent FCU ‘s proposal to merge into a new bank was addressed in 2021 in greater detail by CUToday.info. The credit union has $930.7 million in assets and 52,471 members, according to latest data published by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA).

“TFL’s proposed business model would leverage the existing products, customers, infrastructure, and personnel of TFCU with all assets and liabilities of the former credit union transferring to Thrivent Bank,” the agency said. “The newly approved Thrivent Bank will not operate physical branch office locations and intends to deliver all bank products and services exclusively online, offering a diversified loan portfolio centered in consumer loans and funded primarily by core deposits, following a traditional bank business model. Thrivent Bank will offer products and services without regard to religious affiliation.”

The FDIC said it evaluates deposit insurance applications under a framework of seven factors that include:

• financial history and condition of the institution;
• adequacy of the institution’s capital structure;
• future earnings prospects of the institution;
• general character and fitness of the management of the institution;
• risk presented by the institution to the Deposit Insurance Fund;
• convenience and needs of the community to be served by the institution; and
• whether the institution’s corporate powers are consistent with the purposes of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act

FDIC Approves the Deposit Insurance and Merger Applications for Thrivent Bank, Salt Lake City, Utah

Deal Could Lead to Different Type of Controversy (7/28/21)