Colorado & Pennsylvania Credit Unions Plan 2022 Mergers

Credit unions in Colorado and Pennsylvania recently announced merger plans for next year.

The $172 million Western Rockies Federal Credit Union in Grand Junction said Monday it has scheduled a Dec. 30 special meeting for its members to vote on whether to consolidate with the third largest financial cooperative in Colorado, the $3.4 billion Canvas Credit Union in Lone Tree.

If the merger is approved, the credit union’s branches in Grand Junction, Rifle and Fruita will remain open, and its 48 employees will join Canvas, including Western Rockies President/CEO Kristi Porter, who holds 41 years of service.

“Kristi will continue supporting the members and community in a leadership role with Canvas and will be instrumental to integrating our partnership into the fabric of the Western Slope community,” Canvas President/CEO Todd Marksberry said. “Kristi participating in our shared future was fundamental to our decision to move ahead with the collaboration.”

Currently serving more than 14,000 members, Western Rockies was charted in 1936.

Canvas, which was chartered two years later in 1938, currently has 648 employees who operate 30 branches throughout metro Denver and northern Colorado, serving 269,407 members, according to the credit union’s third quarter Call Report.

“Since moving to Colorado more than six years ago, I fell in love with our great state and the incredible people who make it even more vibrant. With that deep love for Coloradans driving us, our team has been dreaming about how we can expand our impact well beyond the Front Range,” Marksberry said in a joint prepared statement. “The opportunity to welcome the Western Rockies Federal Credit Union members and team to our Canvas family opens the door to manifest even more positive change for people across Colorado.”

The Front Range generally refers to the state’s regions east of the Continental Divide.

Canvas said it plans to explore opportunities to open more branches along the Western Slope, which refers to Colorado’s regions west of the Continental Divide.

In addition to providing Western Rockies members with more products and services, another reason for the consolidation is to bring more support, value and community investment.

Since the Great Recession, Western Rockies has not had the opportunity to invest in its communities as deeply as it would like due to budget challenges, according to the credit unions’ prepared statement. Canvas’ four pillars of community giving – schools, families, veterans and first responders – will be launched directly within the Western Slope to support the region’s greatest needs.

If approved by Western Rockies members, the combined organization would manage more than $3.6 billion in assets and serve nearly 284,000 members.

In Pennsylvania, the board of directors of the $23.8 million Wawa Employees Credit Union in Media, Pa., voted recently to seek state and federal regulatory approvals to merge with the $1.5 billion Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union in Chadds Ford, Pa.

The targeted merger completion date is during the second quarter of 2022, according to WECU. If the proposed merger receives regulatory approvals by January, WECU members will receive a notice of a special meeting to vote on whether to approve the proposed consolidation.

WECU President/CEO Sara Dougherty said the credit union’s branch will remain open and its five employees will join Franklin Mint should the consolidation be approved by members.