Seminole Tribe drops second attempt to join banking industry


The Mackinac Savings Bank operates a branch in this strip mall in West Palm Beach, Florida. Image from Google Maps

The Seminole Tribe of Florida won't be acquiring a bank as planned.

The tribe said it was going to purchase the Mackinac Savings Bank, a bank with branches in Florida and offices in Massachusetts and Michigan. But the deal was withdrawn due to concerns about restrictions on loans to its members.

"As we performed our due diligence, we determined that Mackinac Savings Bank is a solid financial institution with a good reputation, but it simply was not a good fit for our tribal members, who would have faced expanded lending restrictions under banking regulations," Tony Sanchez, Jr., the president of Seminole Tribe of Florida, Inc., the tribe's business arm, said in a statement, according to news reports.

The tribe said it will consider forming a credit union.

Get the Story:
Seminole Tribe decides against buying bank (The South Florida Sun-Sentinel 2/2)
Seminole Tribe of Florida nixes acquisition of Mackinac Savings Bank (The South Florida Business Journal 1/30)

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