WESTBROOK, Maine — Maine, long a minor player on shared branching, has been making big gains, now with 60 locations, thanks in part to a word-of-mouth promotion, it was reported last week.
Three years ago there were six credit unions and 11 locations, said the Maine Credit Union League. Now there are 23 CUs.
"We're in a rural area but our members travel and shop 45 miles away so it's a matter of providing access and convenience to remain competitive," explained Rhonda Taylor, president/CEO of the $57 million Maine Highlands Federal Credit Union in Dexter, located in central Maine.
Recommended For You
According to Taylor, members seem to be noticing and talking up the shared branch concept.
Since the end of June, four Maine CUs have signed up with Synergent, the league's processing firm, operating shared branching and accounting for 12 new locations, said the league.
Taylor said for her CU, with four branches and whose members do business in Bangor closer to the coast, the shared operation may not prove to be a moneymaker "since we may find our members using other branches rather than the other way around." Nonetheless, member service is key, she said.
The other three CUs being added on include: York County FCU, Sanford; Greater Portland Municipal, Southern Portland; and Semiconductor of Maine FCU, Southern Portland.
The 60 locations in Maine today now rival facilities of Key Bank, which has the most branches in the state, said the league.
Gary Glenn, vice president of technical services for Synergent, said transaction volume has climbed from 12,000 a few years ago to 25,000 in May and 29,000 with the newest additions.
Another shared branch incentive and motivator has been the application of disaster recovery, he noted.
"I know we have a long way to go in shared branching when you consider states like Indiana have 100,000 transactions but we're making good progress," he said.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
