Two credit unions set to merge

RICHMOND, Va. (WDBJ) - Virginia Credit Union, Inc. (VACU) and Member One Federal Credit Union have announced plans to merge, pending regulatory approval and a positive Member One membership vote, according to a joint release from the businesses. If approved, the combined credit union will serve close to 500,000 members with 37 branch locations, and employ about 1,100 people throughout Virginia, according to the release.

“This partnership represents the heart of the credit union industry’s cooperative mindset,” said Chris Shockley, President/CEO, VACU. “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 one of the top 50 largest credit unions in the United States, with assets of approximately $6.8B, according to the release.

Frank Carter, President/CEO of Member One, said, “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 says. “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.”

Shockley adds, “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. 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.”

Shockley would remain the President/CEO of the combined organization; Carter would remain with the organization in an executive role until he retires. Company leadership says no employees would lose their jobs and no branch locations would be closed as a result of the merger.