The North Carolina Credit Union League and the South Carolina Credit Union League boards of directors said Thursday they have unanimously voted to authorize a six-member task force to explore the consolidation of the two leagues.

The Consolidation Task Force will include three board members from each state league.  Faye Crocker of the $11.9 million Greater Abbeville FCU in Abbeville, Linda Weatherford of the $123 million SPC CU in Hartsville and Nick Wodogaza of the $548 million Palmetto Citizens FCU in Columbia are representing the SCCUL. Maurice Smith of the $1.2 billion LGFCU in Raleigh, Patty Idol of the $145 million Mountain CU in Waynesville and Jeff Jones of the $51 million Freedom FCU in Rocky Mount are representing the NCCUL.

The task force will assess whether consolidation best positions both organizations to continue meeting the needs of the nearly 90 credit unions in North Carolina and the 72 credit unions in South Carolina. However, the final decision to consolidate would be subject to approval by each board and the membership of each organization. The task force does not have a deadline to complete its assessment, which is expected to take a few months.