The $560 million Credit Union of Southern California, Whittier, one of the state's more profitable CUs, is completing a merger this month with the nearby $70 million WestWorks CU.
Under a deal approved by regulators to be finalized Dec. 31, CUSC will merge the Alhambra CU and its two branches, creating a credit union with eight branches and 55,000 members.
"Both ourselves and WestWorks are healthy credit unions which have been fortunate in avoiding a lot of the challenges faced in the southern California economy," said Edward Fox, executive vice president and chief operating officer of CUSC.
CUSC boasts 1.07 ROA, 9.53% capital through October and $4.4 million net income through the third quarter.
Although CUSC currently has no plans for further mergers, Fox said the credit union would be happy to entertain other opportunities if presented to CUSC.
In its loan policies, Fox said CUSC has avoided many of the areas most troubling to other CUs, including subprime and indirect loans. WestWorks, with 15% capital, serves Los Angeles area public works employees, and it has also steered clear of problem credits, said Fox.
Under the CUSC-WestWorks transaction, David Gunderson, president/CEO of CUSC will head up the combined credit union, which will retain the Credit Union of Southern California name. WestWorks President/CEO May Morris has been named vice president/special projects and public relations.
