Majority of Firefly FCU Members Approve Merger With TruStone Financial CU

Members of the $1.5 billion Firefly Federal Credit Union approved a merger Monday with the $1.7 billion TruStone Financial Credit Union, which will create Minnesota’s second largest financial cooperative.

Firefly President/CEO Dale Turner declined to reveal the final vote tally, but he said that a significant majority of the nearly 11,500 members who cast a ballot voted in favor of the consolidation.

Nonetheless, there were at least four Firefly members who expressed their opposition to the consolidation on a federal government website, regulations.gov, where members can post their comments about pending mergers. Three of those members said they would be voting no because they opposed the $250,000 executive retention bonuses. A fourth member spoke against the bonuses but did not indicate a yes or no vote for the consolidation.

“This magnitude of compensation is truly excessive and insensitive given that we are in a midst of a pandemic, with many folks – some likely members of Firefly and TruStone Financial credit unions – struggling to pay their rent or buy enough food for their household,” a Firefly member wrote. “Truly shameful, and for this reason I will be voting no on the proposed merger.”

However, Turner said Firefly received more than 700 comments and most of them were either neutral or positive in support of the merger. He also justified the executive retention bonuses as a necessity to keep talented executives, whose skills and abilities are essential to competently operate the complexities of running a multi-billion-dollar credit union, on board.

Moreover, it should be noted that like all credit unions throughout the nation, the Burnsville-based Firefly and the Plymouth-based TruStone have stepped up their efforts and initiatives - and continue to do so - to help and support their members, employees and communities to get through the uncertainties and difficulties created by the pandemic crisis.

NCUA regulations require merging credit unions to disclose certain increases in compensation for the five most highly compensated executives, which Turner said he supports. According to Firefly, four executives – Gary Jeter, chief technology officer; Leon Eichten, CFO; Kelly Robbert, COO; and Marty Kelly, chief marketing officer will each receive a $250,000 retention bonus.

Turner will receive $283,622 based on a collateral assignment split dollar plan (CASD) that will fully vest on the effective date of the merger.

“Every single day, we’re working hard to make sure that we’re bringing value to our members. And frankly, we are working even harder to keep our members,” Turner said. “So how do we do that? We have to keep consistent leadership. We have to keep consistent talent.”

Turner indicated executive talent is needed now more than ever to deliver new technologies and to manage highly sophisticated financial products and services to remain competitive and maintain a healthy balance sheet.

“It’s about keeping the talent in place and it’s about avoiding any major disruption in the levels of service that our members have come to expect from us,” he said.

Turner will become the president/CEO of the merged credit union following next year’s retirement of TruStone Financial President/CEO Tim Bosiacki.

The combined credit union, which will operate under the TruStone name, will manage $3.4 billion in assets and will serve nearly 200,000 members in the Minneapolis/St. Paul community, as well as the St. Cloud, Minn. and the Milwaukee, Wis., areas.

Since it was announced last spring, both credit unions have touted the consolidation’s benefits, such as increased branch locations, improved products and services, and greater investments in technology.

Members will begin to see signs of those changes as early as January, but full integration is not planned until March of 2021, according to Firefly.

“From the beginning, this has been a mission focused on our members – giving them better products, more branches and increased value,” Bosiacki said in Firefly’s prepared statement. “It is tremendous to see that mission realized.”