The $2.6 billion Visions FCU will be expanding into northern New Jersey with the merger of the $330 million Paragon FCU of Montvale, N.J., the credit unions announced Friday.
The merger will give Endicott, N.Y.-based Visions – which now serves the southern tier of New York and northern tier of Pennsylvania – a total of 166,000 members served by 29 branches in those three states.
The NCUA has approved the transaction and it is expected to be complete within the next 90 days, the credit unions said in an announcement posted on Paragon FCU’s website.
“We are very excited by this opportunity to expand our presence into northern New Jersey, and by the extent to which Paragon’s branches complement our current locations, we are increasingly well positioned to serve our members in New York and look forward to doing business in this highly attractive marketplace,” said Frank E. Berrish, president/CEO of Visions FCU.
“We welcome the opportunity and invite the members of Paragon Federal Credit Union to take advantage of our vast array of superior products and services,” Berrish said.
John S. Fiore, president/CEO of Paragon, said, “By joining Visions – one of the premier credit unions in New York – we are providing our members with access to a significantly broader menu of products and services.”
Fiore cited "state-of-the-art home banking with remote deposit check scanning, bill payment services, account aggregator services, Quicken data extracts, online account opening and loan application capabilities, as well as an advanced mobile banking platform, will mean greater convenience for our members.”
Visions said the merger will add six branches in northern New Jersey to 23 it now has serving Broome, Chenango, Tioga, Chemung and Schuyler counties in New York; the cities of Rochester and Syracuse, N.Y., and Bradford County in Pennsylvania.
Paragon was founded in 1936 as the East Bergen Teachers Federal Credit Union. Its FOM is all individuals who live, work, worship or attend school in Bergen or Passaic counties, as well as parts of Essex, Hudson and Union counties in New Jersey and parts of Rockland County in New York as well as parts of Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton in Pennsylvania, the credit union’s website says.
