The struggling $19 million Milestone Credit Union in Birmingham, Ala., has merged with the $537 million Alabama Credit Union in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Formerly the Birmingham Post Office Credit Union, Milestone CU was the oldest credit union in the state, according to news site AL.com. The merger, originally proposed and approved by Milestone’s members in September, took effect Jan. 31, according to ACU.
“Our loans are down, our membership is decreasing and the credit union’s assets are shrinking,” Milestone CU’s Board Chair Sharon Goodwin wrote in a letter to the credit union’s 2,883 members.
“We cannot compete with the large credit unions and banks on loan or saving rates, new services, marketing or technology,” Goodwin said. “Your Milestone Credit Union has two branches with six employees, and yet we still must comply with the same regulatory compliance as the larger financial institutions, who have multiple employees to handle only compliance issues.”
ACU said it will continue to operate Milestone's two branches, and the credit union's six employees have retained their jobs, Goodwin said.
