This commentary is by George Sales of St. Johnsbury, a member of the VSECU board of directors.
There is a lot involved when companies or organizations decide to go through a merger or to pursue an acquisition. Likewise, there are as many confusing details and mistruths about them.
In most cases, acquisitions could either be friendly or hostile, but inevitably one is absorbed into the larger entity. A merger, however, is a mutual agreement by two (or more) entities that combine resources to form a new, larger entity.
Organizations choose to merge because the value of the combined organization is worth more than the sum of the individual parts. This is due to unrealized synergies and economies of scale, and this is the case for Vermont State Employees Credit Union and New England Federal Credit Union (NEFCU). And this is the reason I unequivocally support the proposed merger of these two Vermont-centric credit unions.
I am concerned about misinformation that has been published recently regarding the merger. VSECU and NEFCU are merging into one entity, and this merged entity will have a new name that is more appropriate and representative of the growth and successes of each credit union.
VSECU unwaveringly serves Vermont state employees, as it always has. Yet, over the last several decades, VSECU’s membership now reflects a much larger percentage of members who are not Vermont state employees. The addition of thousands of new members resulted in great ability for VSECU to financially serve both past members and new members.
VSECU will be gaining almost twice its current financial resources and assets with this merger (NEFCU is around double in size right now and is the largest credit union in Vermont). This merger gives VSECU members greater resources to draw from in lending, services and locations.
The combined resources will also allow the credit union to compete head-on with much larger institutions by leveraging best practices and investing in infrastructure, technology, online security and emerging industries.
To claim that we are “losing a Vermont credit union” simply is not true. Such claims unfairly tug at the emotional heartstrings and miss the larger objective of this historic opportunity.
VSECU has never lost its local flavor and mission with growth. Quite the opposite. Expanding membership and financial resources have enhanced “green lending,” reflecting VSECU’s mission, environmental stewardship and leadership in alternative lending. This merger will take everything that is good with each credit union and combine resources and talents for something even greater.
Many claim that VSECU is doing fine and well as it is, so why change a good thing? Well, the truth is — it took a lot of time, thoughtful planning and careful deliberation to get to where we are today. The decision to merge also took a lot of time, thoughtful planning and countless discussions and deliberation — it is by no means a haphazard decision, or a fleeting one.
Members of the board of directors take their job as stewards of the organization seriously and the board is composed of highly motivated professionals and representative members of our state. Rob Miller, VSECU CEO, is highly respected, lives locally and raises his family here.
If we do nothing and we sit comfortably on our laurels of today, it will be at the expense of our future.
I am a member of the board of directors at VSECU by choice and by circumstance. I speak as a small business owner, former management consultant and business adviser, adjunct business professor, community advocate and supporter, as well as a former Vermont state employee. I see this proposed merger as an excellent opportunity to combine resources and help propel Vermonters into the next generation. This is about two great Vermont credit unions combining talent and resources to better serve the membership and employee base.
We need to think globally but act locally, so I urge all VSECU members who haven’t yet voted to cast an affirming “yes” vote for this merger. This “yes” vote will ensure a solid future of our credit union for generations of Vermonters to come.
Read the story on VTDigger here: George Sales: Credit union merger will combine everything that’s good now.