The $900 million Empower Federal Credit Union of Syracuse, N.Y., expects to complete a merger of an ailing competitor, the $10 million Providers FCU, by Jan. 1.
The merger, now awaiting NCUA approval and in the talking stage for some time, was is "a mutual benefit" to both CUs and is in line with a trend impacting small CUs across New York and elsewhere, said Empower.
Providers, with 2.94% net worth and a loss $263,000 in 2009, "sought a way of offering a broader product and service menu and this is something we can provide," said John Wakefield, president/CEO of Empower.
Empower will be taking over Providers' single branch and by January the larger Syracuse CU will have 20 offices. Membership in Empower will rise to 97,000, including the 2,000 members of Providers. The Providers merger would be the third in three years for Empower, said Wakefield."We do them at the rate of one a year," he said, stressing there is no active effort to seek more but Empower does strive to help out smaller, struggling CUs cope.
