MORENO VALLEY, Calif. — Visterra Credit Union and Credit Union of Southern California, with $470 million and $530 million in assets respectively, are the latest to announce a mega-merger of equal partners.
Both credit unions have nearly identical net worth: 10.16% for Visterra and 10.10% for CUSoCal. Other financials reveal two safe and strong credit unions, save for some rising delinquencies and loss of ROA at Visterra, which is hardly news in mortgage war-torn and gas price weary SoCal.
So why merge? Simply put, members are better off thanks to economies of scale, officials say.
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"If you go back 10 years ago, most of the banking industry was concerned with commercial lending and deposits; but, in the last few years, they've really gone after the consumer market," said Bob Cameron, current President/CEO of Visterra Credit Union. "The competition is really strong, and we don't feel that's going away any time soon."
Cameron said the combined credit union is conservatively anticipating a $1.5 million to $2 million annual savings from the costs of maintaining separate core processors, headquarters facilities, employee benefits plans and other operational systems.
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