<p>ARVADA, Colo. – The dual branding strategy at SunCorp Corporate Credit Union will end March 1. In a unique move, after SunCorp merged with Rocky Mountain Corporate it said it was going to allow Rocky Mountain Corporate to keep its name and branding strategy post-merger. The thinking was that the loyalty and name recognition built up in the Rocky Mountain name wouldn't be lost. Now SunCorp President/ CEO Eric Kenealy says that policy is changing. Effective March 1, the Rocky Mountain name will be eliminated and the $1.9 billion corporate (as of year-end 2001) will be known as SunCorp Corporate CU. "When we started the dual brand approach it was a good way to reassure members and maintain relationships. Executing the strategy we found a lot of legal obstacles and it was very expensive," said Kenealy. Other than the legalities and the expense, Kenealy said the primary reason SunCorp feels comfortable going with the single name is member CUs said they were more concerned with product line-up and pricing than the name. "What they want is good service and good rates. They've reacted very positively to this," said Kenealy. "We actually had a couple of credit unions in Utah suggest that we just go with the one name. They didn't see a benefit to having two names," said Kenealy. One of the reasons SunCorp considered keeping the Rocky Mountain name is the corporate did a lot of PR work to get that name known after changing to Rocky Mountain from Corporate Central CU of Utah in 2000. The corporate did evaluate the possibility of using the Rocky Mountain name. "SunCorp wasn't a slam dunk, but we felt it had more goodwill possibility going forward in the future," said Kenealy. At the time the merger was announced, SunCorp identified 119 tasks it would have to complete to truly merge the two corporates. Kenealy said about 115 of those have been done. The oft-touted economies of scale are helping, said Kenealy. "For annuities Standard & Poors increased our commercial paper issuance to $150 million. The offices have been combined. We're leveraging the combined technologies," he said. SunCorp has 400 CU members. It is rated A1+, P1 by Standard & Poors and Moodys. [email protected]</p>