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The $3.6 billion Rogue Credit Union, based in the Southern Oregon city of Medford, is planning to expand its presence in Northern California via a merger with the Redding-based Members 1st Credit Union.
The two credit unions announced their intent to merge last week, stating that while the merger has been unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both credit unions, it is still pending approval from the NCUA and state regulators in Oregon and California.
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The $340 million Members 1st was originally founded as California State Employees Credit Union #13 in 1936 at the Redding Department of Transportation Office to serve California state employees, primarily highway workers. It now serves nearly 24,000 members and operates six locations in Redding, Chico and Anderson, Calif.
Rogue, which also served state employees in its early days, currently runs 22 full-service branches in Oregon and Idaho, and has over 212,000 members who live, work, worship or attend school in select Oregon, Idaho and California counties.
“We are beyond excited to be able to embark on this journey with a trusted partner,” Rogue President/CEO Matt Stephenson. “This partnership will allow us to provide a greater opportunity to serve more members, offering expanded resources and enhanced services – all while preserving the local, hometown feel that members value.”
“We are excited about this opportunity to partner with one of the top-performing credit unions in the nation,” Members 1st Board Chair Ken Reed said. “This will give our members more choices and improved benefits of membership. Rogue is deeply committed to the communities they serve and will retain the same level of dedication to the Members 1st communities.”
The credit unions said they “are committed to maintaining all branch locations and employment for all team members in good standing” following the merger.
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Natasha Chilingerian
Natasha Chilingerian has been immersed in the credit union industry for over a decade. She first joined CU Times in 2011 as a freelance writer, and following a two-year hiatus from 2013-2015, during which time she served as a communications specialist for Xceed Financial Credit Union (now Kinecta Federal Credit Union), she re-joined the CU Times team full-time as managing editor. She was promoted to executive editor in 2019. In the earlier days of her career, Chilingerian focused on news and lifestyle journalism, serving as a writer and editor for numerous regional publications in Oregon, Louisiana, South Carolina and the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, she holds experience in marketing copywriting for companies in the finance and technology space. At CU Times, she covers People and Community news, cybersecurity, fintech partnerships, marketing, workplace culture, leadership, DEI, branch strategies, digital banking and more. She currently works remotely and splits her time between Southern California and Portland, Ore.
