RICHMOND – Virginia Credit Union, Inc. (VACU) and Member One Federal Credit Union (Member One) are excited to announce their plans to merge pending regulatory approval and a positive Member One membership vote.
If approved, the combined credit union would serve close to 500,000 members with 37 branch locations and employ approximately 1,100 employees throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Both organizations believe “Better Together” is a great way to describe the partnership, because this merger is between two financially healthy, future focused credit unions committed to providing unparalleled branch and digital access, along with amazing service for the members and the communities they serve. In a highly competitive financial services industry where consumers want things easier and more seamless than ever, this merger positions VACU and Member One to be a leading credit union doing just that.
“This partnership represents the heart of the credit union industry’s cooperative mind-set,” Chris Shockley, President/CEO, VACU said. “Fundamentally, credit unions came into existence when people saw an opportunity to band together and pool their financial resources in order to provide access to financial products and services to people who needed them.”
Combined, the organization would not only be the third largest credit union in Virginia, but it would become one of the top 50 largest credit unions in the United States, with assets of approximately $6.8B. While the asset size is notable, both organizations are more excited about what the spirit of this partnership and their combined strength would mean for the credit union’s future.
Frank Carter, President/CEO, Member One agrees.
“When I first sat down with Chris and we started to share our visions for our respective credit unions, everything about partnering together felt right,” Carter said. “From the onset, both of our boards of directors have focused on ensuring that together we’d continue to provide the best member, employee, and community value.”
“Becoming a larger organization with more locations, more talent, and more resources will ultimately result in greater economies of scale which is a good thing,” Shockly added. “What becoming larger does not mean, however, is that we sacrifice our mission and our purpose. We would continue to invest in our members, our people, and our communities.”
Chris Shockley would remain the President/CEO of the combined organization. Frank Carter would remain with the organization in an executive role until he retires. It’s also important to note that no employees would lose their job and no branch locations would be closed as a result of the merger.
As member-owned cooperatives, and under the guidelines of the National Credit Union Administration, a successful merger is contingent upon Member One Federal Credit Union member approval. Upon that approval, the entities legally join sometime in 2024.
As the merger process moves forward, both credit unions will provide information to their respective memberships via their websites (vacu.org and memberonefcu.com), along with other relevant communication channels.
Submitted by Virginia Credit Union and Member One Federal Credit Union