Officials with the League of Southeastern Credit Unions & Affiliates (LSCU & Affiliates) and the Virginia Credit Union League (VACUL) announced Friday its members voted in favor of merging the two leagues.
The landmark approval will bring together the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Virginia under one league led by LSCU President Samantha Beeler. President of Affiliates Consolidated Services and LEVERAGE Steve Willis will oversee the combined service corporation.
Friday’s announcement did not state the final vote tally.
The merger will be official on Jan. 1, 2025.
A prepared statement from LSCU & Affiliates Chairman of the Board and President/CEO of USF Federal Credit Union Richard Skaggs said, "As a combined entity, the League will be in a stronger position than ever before to empower credit unions and their communities with the resources needed to succeed and thrive in today’s marketplace. This is the beginning of a very fruitful future, with a shared vision for greater industry influence and lasting benefits for members.”
Jeff Bentley, chair of the VACUL Board and president/CEO of Northwest Federal Credit Union ($4.8 billion, Herndon, Va.), said, “Thanks to the support of the membership, we are embracing a powerful opportunity to strengthen credit union engagement and our collective advocacy impact. We are now positioned to provide more customized services, innovative solutions and a stronger voice for our members.”
LSCU President Samantha Beeler stated, “We are elated to bring together the best of both legacy organizations to provide greater value for our members and the communities they serve. Together, we will be a powerful voice and resource in supporting and growing credit unions across our expanded region.”
With the merger, which was announced in September, the combined organization will represent 386 credit unions and 31.5 million members.
Consolidation talks began after Carrie Hunt, former VACUL president/CEO, was named chief advocacy officer for the newly formed America's Credit Unions in December, after CUNA and NAFCU credit union members agreed to merge.
A letter of intent was signed by both organizations to merge in August.
In an interview with CU Times after the merger announcement in September, Beeler said despite the geographic space between the LSCU and VACUL, the merger made sense in a lot of ways.
"What it does do is provide a depth of knowledge, experience and networking for our credit unions in an area that's not necessarily in their backyard, so it's not as competitive. And yet the advocacy landscapes are similar," Beeler said. "People think of Georgia as a red state, but it truly is a purple (state) in so many ways when you look at our governor versus our Senate delegation. And you've got the same version of that up in Virginia. The political landscape of the state and federal delegation level is very common, so it helps us galvanize both our advocacy efforts and find messaging that resonates throughout the footprint."
Beeler said they have a commitment to retain VACUL's 17 employees for at least a period of time.
"We've committed to retain [VACUL's] staff for up to two years, obviously, [and] hopefully longer than that," Beeler said.
LSCU has about 27 employees.
The Virginia league posted net assets of $9.6 million while LSCU recorded net assets of $41.1 million, according to their respective 2022 IRS 990 filings. In that year, VACUL's membership dues amounted to $1,712,021 and LSCU's membership dues totaled $4,856,857.
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Michael Ogden
Editor-in-Chief at CU Times. To connect, email at [email protected]. As Editor-in-Chief of CU Times since 2016, Michael Ogden has led the editorial team in all aspects of content strategy and execution, including the creation of the publication’s exclusive and proprietary research database of the credit union industry’s economic landscape. Under Michael’s leadership, CU Times has successfully shifted to an all-digital editorial product with new focuses on the payments, fraud, lending and regulatory beats. Most recently, he introduced a data-focused editorial product for subscribers that breaks down credit union issues into hard data, allowing for a deeper and more factual narrative for readers. In 2024, he launched the "Shared Accounts With CU Times" podcast, which offers a fresh, inside-the-newsroom perspective through interviews with leaders from the credit union industry and the regulatory world. He dives into pressing credit union issues, while revealing the personalities working behind-the-scenes to push the credit union world forward. His background includes years as a radio and TV anchor/reporter and a public relations and digital/social media manager, where he covered the food and music industries, as well as cooperatives and credit unions. Over the years, he has launched numerous exclusive video and podcast series, including a successful series of interactive backstage interviews with musicians at music festivals, showcasing his social media and live streaming production skills.
