DALLAS -- Southwest Corporate Federal Credit Union said that a merger of two regional offices of the Federal Home Loan Bank (see related item page 10) will not have a major impact on Southwest Corporate or the other approximately 80 credit unions that might be impacted.
The two offices which the FHLB is considering merging are located in Chicago and Dallas. So far the possible merger is only being considered and studied and no firm decision has yet been made.
"Their discussions are in the very early stages," said Southwest Corporate Executive Vice President Bruce Fox after speaking with a FHLB representative. "There is not a lot in the way of timetables, they are just exploring to see if it makes sense to members."
Southwest Corporate said it has been a member of the Dallas FHLB for more than two years and primarily utilizes the facility as an additional liquidity source.
"I don't foresee significant impact on Southwest Corporate. If the FHLB merger goes through it could create some efficiencies that might translate into slightly better borrowing rates or new services for us," Fox said. "When there is an advantage in the financial marketplace that we can access, Southwest Corporate works to pass it along to our members."
Both banks have comparable portfolios of advances to members and a similar membership composition, comprised primarily of community financial institutions while also serving larger institutions. The Dallas bank has $53.3 billion in assets as of March 31. It serves more than 900 member institutions in the Ninth Fed District. The Chicago bank, with $87 billion in assets as of
March 31, serves more than 850 member institutions in the Seventh District.
