Shareholders OK sale of Monadnock Bank to Mass. credit union

Monadnock Community Bank of Peterborough is on its way to being acquired by a Massachusetts credit union — the first publicly traded bank to do so.Shareholders of Monadnock Bancorp Inc. overwhelmingly approved the $6.4 million sale of the bank to GFA Federal Credit Union, based in Gardner, Mass., for $6.4 million or about $5.50 per share, the two parties announced Thursday.The deal, which still must be approved by regulators, represents the bank coming full circle. Monadnock Community Bank converted from a credit union to a federal savings bank back in 1996.Monadnock – traded on the OTC Bulletin Board as MNKB – is one of the state’s smallest banks, with one branch and $82.7 million in assets at the end of last year. That is actually down from the $104 million in assets listed in NHBR’s Book of Lists. Even then, the bank was the second smallest bank based in the state.Combined, GFA Federal and Monadnock will have nine branches, seven in north central Massachusetts and two in New Hampshire, with $429 million in assets, and some $318 million in deposits.This will be GFA’s first acquisition, and it is the first time a credit union has acquired a stockholder-owned savings bank. It’s the second time a credit union acquired any savings bank.Stockholders owning about 767,000 shares backed the merger — more than 99 percent of shares voted.Before the deal closes, Monadnock will have to repay funds from the federal bailout program known as TARP. The bank received $1.8 million in federal funding in 2008. Both sides said they expect that the deal will close by the end of the year. — BOB SANDERS/NEW HAMPSHIRE BUSINESS REVIEW