The $51 million, 4,936-member StarTrust Federal Credit Union (formerly Enron FCU) in Houston will merge with the $120 million, 22,763-member InvesTex Credit Union also of Houston on June 30.

StarTrust FCU members “overwhelmingly” voted to approve the merger recently, according to an InvesTex CU statement on Thursday. NCUA and the Texas Credit Union Department gave their preliminary approval of the merger in March, according to InvesTex.

StarTrust's roots date back to 1978 when it opened as Houston Natural Gas Credit Union to offer financial services to HNG employees. In 1986, the gas company's name was changed to Enron Corp. and the credit union's name also was changed to Enron FCU.

However, the credit union's deposits, loans and membership fell after Enron filed for bankruptcy protection in December 2001. To make a fresh start, the credit union changed its name, moved to a new location and expanded its field of membership during the spring and summer of 2002.

Over the last five years, however, StarTrust has been struggling financially with a net worth of 6.90% posted at the end of last year, Since, 2008, the credit union has seen declining loans, investment and fee income, and it also has lost members.  

According to NCUA financial performance reports, StarTrust's loan income has dropped from $1.7 million in 2008 to $1.3 million in 2012. Investment income fell from $569,650 to $203,834 and fee income decreased from $600,241 to $463,078 in the same years. Membership has also fallen from 6,686 in 2008 to 4,936, according to Callahan & Associates data. 

Post merger, all 11 StarTrust employees will continue to be employed with InvesTex and the current StarTrust FCU branch in downtown Houston will be added to InvesTex Credit Union's branch network.

The combined credit union will have more than $170 million in assets, over 27,000 members, with six locations in the Houston area.