Two Minnesota Credit Unions Back Together Again After 80 Years
On Nov. 1, Midland Co-op CU will merge with SPIRE CU. They started as one cooperative during the Great Depression.
Two Minnesota credit unions that opened as one financial institution during the Great Depression and then operated as separate cooperatives for eight decades are getting back together again.
On Nov. 1, the $11.3 million Midland Co-op Credit Union in Minneapolis will merge with the $1.7 billion SPIRE Credit Union in Falcon Heights. SPIRE said in a prepared statement Wednesday that 97.25% of Midland members voted to approve the consolidation.
Midland Co-op and SPIRE started as one credit union in 1934, five years after the crash of the U.S. stock market that triggered the Great Depression.
SPIRE’s founder, Edgar Archer, was an employee of Midland Cooperative Oil Association. He sought a loan to pay debts incurred while out of work, but time after time he was turned down, according to SPIRE’s prepared statement.
In March 1934, Archer worked with seven colleagues to open the Twin City Oil Co-ops Credit Union, which served 52 members and had an average loan amount of less than $50. Adjusted for inflation, $50 in 1934 is equal to $986.64 in 2021, according to DollarTimes.com.
By 1940, the credit union was serving members and employees of both Midland Cooperatives and Co-op Services. At that time, regulators encouraged splitting the two groups with Twin City Oil Co-ops Credit Union (now SPIRE) servicing Co-op Services, and a newly formed Midland Co-op Credit Union to serve Midland Cooperatives, SPIRE said in its prepared statement.
Currently, Midland Co-op’s two employees operate a branch and serve 1,340 members, the credit union’s Call Reports showed.
Midland Co-op President/CEO Becky Lindman said the credit union chose to merge with SPIRE because it is well known and will offer more and competitive products and services for Midland Co-op’s members.
“Most of all, we chose SPIRE because they care about our members and our legacy,” Lindman said in a prepared statement.
“We are excited to serve and welcome back the Midland Co-op members to the SPIRE family,” SPIRE President/CEO Dan Stoltz said. “Our partnership is a triple win: A win for our employees, a win for our communities, and most of all, a big win for our memberships.”
Currently, SPIRE’s 332 employees operate 21 branches and serve more than 137,000 members.