NCUA Approves 50 Credit Union Mergers in Third Quarter
The federal agency gives its stamp of approval to the $2 billion Schools Financial CU with the $16 billion SchoolsFirst CU.
Mergers approved by the NCUA in the third quarter of 2019 totaled 50, substantially higher than the 32 and 29 mergers approved during the second and first quarters of 2019, respectively.
The 111 mergers in the three quarters of the year are down, compared to the 139 consolidations approved by the NCUA at the end of three quarters in 2018.
Five credit unions got the green light to merge because of poor financial conditions, two for the inability to find a new CEO and 43 for expanded services.
According to the NCUA’s second quarter merger activity and insurance report, the largest merger deal approved was the $2.1 billion Schools Financial Credit Union in Sacramento, Calif., with the $16.1 billion SchoolsFirst Credit Union in Sana Ana. Initially announced in January, the merger will solidify SchoolsFirst as California’s largest financial cooperative that will manage $18.2 billion in assets and serve 1,078,790 members.
The second largest consolidation in the third quarter was the $450 million Crescent Credit Union in Brockton, Mass., into the $607 million Sharon Credit Union in Sharon, Mass. This will create the Bay State’s 10th billion-dollar financial cooperative, and it will serve more than 83,000 members.
The NCUA also approved the consolidations of the $141 million Motor City Co-op Credit Union in Clinton Township, Mich., with the $414 Christian Financial Credit Union in Roseville, Mich., and the $134 million Delta County Credit Union in Escanaba, Mich., with the $233 million Embers Credit Union in Marquette, Mich., which were the third and fourth largest consolidations, respectively.
Another notable merger was the $80 million Magnify Credit Union in Mulberry, Fla. with the $24.7 billion Pentagon Federal Credit Union in McLean, Va.
Because of their poor financial condition, the following credit unions received NCUA approval to merge: the $3.5 million City of Schenectady Employees Federal Credit Union in Schenectady, N.Y., with the $1.8 billion CAP COM Federal Credit Union in Albany, N.Y; the $5.9 million People’s Choice Federal Credit Union in Duryea, Pa. into the $50.8 million Citymark Federal Credit Union in Wilkes Barre, Pa., the $4.4 million Monroe Education Employees Federal Credit Union in Monroeville, Ala., with the $700 million Gulf Winds Credit Union in Pensacola, Fla.; the $4.8 million Homestead Federal Credit Union in Billings, Mont., into the $285 million Altana Federal Credit Union also in Billings, and the $2.7 million Pacoima Development Federal Credit Union in Pacoima, Calif., with the $351 million Gain Federal Credit Union in Burbank.
Credit unions that received the OK to merge because they were unable to find new leadership were the $63 million Electrus Credit Union in Brooklyn Center, Minn. with the $1.1 billion Spire Credit Union in Falcon Heights, Minn., and the $267,646 Martin Luther King Credit Union in Houston, into the $119 million Plus4 Credit Union also in Houston.