NCUA Approves 36 Mergers in the Second Quarter of the Year

Seven of the 36 mergers in the second quarter received the NCUA’s approval to merge because they were unable to find a CEO and/or board members to stay in business, according to the federal agency’s Q2 Merger Activity and Insurance Report released last week.

The total number of second quarter consolidations was slightly higher compared to the 33 mergers approved during the first quarter and the 35 mergers approved during the second quarter of 2022.

In addition to the 26 credit unions that received the green light to consolidate for expanded services, including two billion-dollar financial cooperatives, one credit union is merging because of poor management and a second credit union is consolidating because of the lack of sponsor/support.

The number of credit unions unable to keep their shops open because they could not find a CEO and/or board members has been increasing over the last few years.

In addition to the seven credit unions that received the OK to merge in the second quarter, three credit unions in the first quarter were also unable to stay open, bringing the total this year to 10.

In 2022, there were 11 credit unions that were approved to consolidate because of their “inability to obtain officials,” the phrase used by the NCUA, while in 2021 there were four, and in 2020, there was only one. In 2019, however, there were nine.

The seven credit unions approved to merge because of their inability to obtain officials were:

• The $10.3 million First Pace Credit Union in West St. Paul., Minn., with the $7.9 million Riverview Credit Union in South St. Paul.
• The $4.3 million Nebraska Rural Electric Association Credit Union in Lincoln with the $315 million Nebraska Energy Federal Credit Union in Columbus.
• The $3.7 million Petersburg Federal REF Credit Union in North Prince George, Va., into the $43.4 million Vantage Point Federal Credit Union also based in Hopewell.
• The $4 million Miles City Federal Credit Union in Miles, Mont., into the $420 million Valley Financial Credit Union in Billings.
• The $3.1 million IBEW 116 Federal Credit Union in Fort Worth, Texas, into the $679 million Carter Federal Credit Union in Springhill, La.
• The $1.9 million Morrison Employees Credit Union in Dubuque, Iowa, into the $29.4 million Holy Ghost Parish Credit Union also based in Dubuque.
• The $1.1 million Local 461 Federal Credit Union in Macon, Ga., with the $3.6 million Bronsan Yard Federal Credit Union also based in Macon.

The second quarter’s largest mergers approved included:

• The $1.7 billion Hiway Credit Union in St. Paul, Minn., with the $2.1 billion SPIRE Credit Union in Falcon Heights.
• The $230 million St. Lawrence Credit Union in Ogdensburg, N.Y., into the $808 million SeaComm Credit Union in Massena.
• The $93.7 million Partners Financial Federal Credit Union in Glen Allen, Va., into the $426 million Argent Federal Credit Union in Chesterfield.

Because of poor management, the $16.2 million Harrison Federal Credit Union in Colorado Springs was approved to merge into the $909 million Air Academy Federal Credit Union also based in Colorado Springs. Due to a of lack of sponsor support, the $1.8 million I W U Federal Credit Union in Bloomington, Ill., was approved to consolidate with the $202 million Illinois State Credit Union in Normal, according to the NCUA report.

READ MORE: Q2 Merger Activity and Insurance Report.

Editor’s note: The NCUA’s merger approval does not indicate whether members of the merging credit union approved the consolidation or whether it had been called off.