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Vermont’s two largest credit unions are planning to become one.
New England Federal Credit Union and Vermont State Employees Credit Union announced Wednesday that they plan to merge. The move, which requires regulatory and member approval, could be finalized by early 2023, according to the organizations.
“We recognized early on that we could accomplish more together than alone,” Rob Miller, CEO of the Montpelier-based VSECU, said in a press release. “Connecting our leading class of services, programs, and resources will give us the increased scale and capacity to amplify our like-minded mission and commitment to help people financially succeed.”
John Dwyer, CEO of the Williston-based NEFCU, highlighted the smooth transition the two organizations plan to make.
“Being able to accomplish this merger that keeps ownership, management, and resources here in Vermont is a true testament of how the partnership embodies our local values,” he said in the release.
Dwyer expects to retain the role of CEO, and Miller would become president and chief operating officer of the merged credit union.
NEFCU serves 95,000 members, controls $1.9 billion and operates primarily in northwestern Vermont. VSECU, based in Montpelier, is a $1.1 billion financial cooperative with more than 70,000 member-owners. The merged organization would operate under the NEFCU name and have nearly 500 employees.
VSECU’s senior vice president of marketing and business development, Yvonne Garand, said customers could expect expanded services.
“We know that NEFCU, their sweet spot really, has been in housing and affordable housing through mortgage products and services,” she said. “And the sweet spot for VSECU has been in green energy lending.”
“We’ll be able to bring to both memberships and more Vermonters more access to affordable and energy efficient homeownership,” Garand said.
No branches of either credit union are expected to close, Garand said.
Although both boards voted in favor of the merger last week, it must still receive regulatory approval from the National Credit Union Administration and pass a final vote by VSECU’s members. NEFCU’s chief marketing and retail officer, Bill Smith, said neither union has “significant concerns” about the final steps of the process.
“Both credit unions are financially strong,” Smith said. “This is not a merger that has anything to do with capacity, as much as it has to do with opportunity.”
According to Smith, the organizations expect “no layoffs relative to a merger.”
Read the story on VTDigger here: Vermont’s 2 largest credit unions to merge.
