merger-puzzle
On New Year’s Eve, members of the $59 million Chicago Municipal Employees Credit Union voted in favor to merge with the $1.4 billion Great Lakes Credit Union in Bannockburn, Ill., the financial institutions said in a prepared statement Monday.
“Chicago Municipal Employees Credit Union’s (CMECU) net worth position has been declining, and as confirmed by regulatory review, the trend which if continued is not sustainable,” CMECU said in is merger documents filed with the NCUA. “A restoration plan may not have been supported by the regulators, thus, choosing to merge with a stronger credit union was deemed to be in the best interest of our membership. CMECU merging into Great Lakes Credit Union (GLCU) will provide members with significant enhancements with regard to product suite, product features, access to capital and member experience.”
GLCU said it plans to operate in partnership with CMECU to preserve its 98-year-old legacy. CMECU was founded in 1926 and served more than 11,000 members.
An estimated $2,478,157 of CMECU’s net worth will transfer to GLCU. There was no change to compensation for any of the CMECU employees, officials or the five most highly compensated employees, according to CMECU’s merger documents.
At the end of this year’s third quarter, CMECU posted a loss of $2,201,045 and a net worth of 3.59%, according to NCUA financial performance reports. In December 2023, CMECU recorded a loss of $409,319 and a net worth of 8.50%.
Although CMECU had a gain of $1,335,443 and $157,519 at the end of 2021 and 2022, respectively, it recorded losses of $311,667 and $448,993 at the end of 2019 and 2020, respectively, according to NCUA financial performance reports.
The CMECU merger followed GLCU’s consolidation with the $221 million Encurage Financial Network Credit Union (EFNCU) in Chicago that was completed six months ago in June.
EFNCU, which was chartered in 2000 and served more than 11,000 members, also experienced financial challenges in 2023 when it posted a loss of $965,233 and a net worth of 6.99% at the end of that year. In March 2024, the credit union recorded a loss of $426,000 and a net worth of 6.77%, according to NCUA financial performance reports.
EFNCU’s merger documents filed with the federal agency showed an estimated $11,677,268 of its net worth was expected to transfer to GLCU.
EFNCU’s merger-related financial arrangements showed the base salary of the president/CEO, Michael Abraham, would increase by $20,300. According to EFNCU’s 2023 990 Form filed with the IRS, he received a total compensation of $300,599, and in the six months of 2024 his total compensation was $164,349.
EFNCU COO Susan Beckwith’s base salary would increase by $15,000, according to the credit union’s merger documents filed with the NCUA. Her compensation in 2023 was $140,702, the credit union’s IRS filing showed. Her compensation was not listed for the first six months of 2024.
In addition, if the employment is terminated for reasons other than cause or terminated for good reason within 12 months after the merger, the EFNCU split dollar program will become 100% vested for CEO Abraham and William Lump, who was EFNCU’s CFO.
This means Abraham would receive $783,530 and Lump would receive $1,561,593, according to EFNCU’s merger documents filed with the NCUA.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
