Two Washington-area credit unions, FDIC FCU and NSF FCU, formally merged over the weekend to form Partnership FCU.
The new entity, with $105 million in assets, 11,000 members and four branches, has been in the talking stages since 2007 and represents "a new direction, a new business model for the small, single-sponsor credit union," particularly for government-linked CUs in the metro D.C. area, said Theresa Mann, president/CEO.
Mann stressed that today's economic environment makes it "harder and more complex" for single sponsor CUs to grow without achieving back-office economies.
Once the Partnership operation is fine tuned, she said, her Arlington, Va.-based CU hopes to add more CUs in the Maryland/D.C./Virginia area.
In a formal press release, Partnership said, "Both FDIC FCU and NSF FCU are committed to maintaining our high service standards. This new model of 'merger with integrity' combines the strengths of our individual credit unions to help us achieve economies of scale we cannot create on our own."
FDIC FCU, with $70 million in assets, has bank examiners and contractor staff as its principal membership base while NSF serves employees of the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Secret Service.
"We look at this as the beginning of a new kind of credit union that can welcome additional credit unions looking for improved cost efficiencies without sacrificing service or brand integrity," said Mann.
