Marking one of the largest recent mergers in the Atlanta market, the $640 million Georgia United CU and the $205 million State Employees CU, both of Duluth, Ga., said today they expect to finalize a consolidation effective May 1.
As part of the transaction, labeled by the credit unions as “a healthy merger of two “ competitors, Georgia United follows through on a conversion sought last year from regulators to switch from a federal to a state charter. Until last year, Georgia United was simply Georgia FCU.
A spokeswoman for 13-branch, 85,000-member Georgia United said discussions between the two CUs have been ongoing for months and that the merger benefits both organizations.
“State Employees, which you might call a plain vanilla credit union, had really found itself eager to support its members with a broader range of online and high tech services, deciding on a merger as the best solution,” the spokeswoman said.
State Employees, which serves government and university employees has 24.000 members and last year was ranked 10th largest in the state. Georgia United has been seventh largest.
The merger won final approval in February from NCUA, according to the agency’s latest activity report. Members of State Employees approved the merger proposal at a special membership meeting Jan. 24. The computer conversion is slated for April 30.
Among other notable mergers approved by the agency in February were those of the $31 million Bell CU with the $28 million Midwest Partners, both of Sioux Falls, S.D., and the $84 million Aneca CU with the $18 million American Bell CU, both of Shreveport, La.
