CU Merger Activity Expands Membership Footprint in Washington
WSECU and State Highway CU come together to connect communities nearly a three hours' drive apart.
Members of the $33 million State Highway Credit Union (SHCU), located in Union Gap, Wash., voted to merge with the $4.9 billion Washington State Employees Credit Union (WSECU), almost 200 miles away in Olympia, Wash.
The merger became effective April 1 and WSECU officials said the nearly 1,600 SHCU members will be fully integrated into WSECU on May 15. Once completed, WSECU’s 297,253-member footprint will expand to 23 branches with the newest location in Union Gap.
According to WSECU, SHCU employees will remain “throughout and after the transition” to WSECU has finished. “This was important to provide continuity and familiarity to the members and to retain institutional knowledge and expertise,” WSECU stated.
“We have been working for months to welcome SHCU members and make the transition easy for them,” Gary Swindler, WSECU’s president/CEO, said. “SHCU has built strong, meaningful relationships with members and we are committed to doing the same going forward.”
According to SHCU, the planned retirement of its CEO Karen Woodall gave its board of directors a chance to seek a “friendly merger partner” as they discussed the future of the small credit union and “what was in the best interest of members for the long term.”
“It’s a new chapter for the former SHCU and WSECU is taking great care of us,” Woodall said. “I’m excited for members to experience our new credit union’s exceptional service for themselves.”