MANCHESTER, N.H. - St. Mary's Bank, the oldest credit union inthe U.S., has signed a letter of intent to acquire Gateway CU basedin Nashua. The intention is for Gateway's 8,000 members and $25million in assets to be integrated in to St. Mary's Bank withGateway operating under the St. Mary's name. St. Mary's has morethan $500 million in assets and in excess of 50,000 members. Thecredit unions say the merger is mutually beneficial. The combinedcredit union will have seven branches, giving St. Mary's a moresignificant presence in Southern New Hampshire, as well as entre tothe Nashua market. Gateway members will gain access to a largermenu of products and services that includes free checking with freeonline bill pay services, instant online approval for mortgages,and access to St. Mary's Financial Services Inc., St. Mary'sInsurance Services Inc., and St. Mary's Title Services, LLC.Gateway members will also have access to St. Mary's small businessofferings which include sophisticated online services, a full rangeof commercial and industrial loans, SBA loans, Business FinancialAuthority loans, and a Credit union at Work program. Gateway waschartered in 1961 to serve employees of a Nashua-based company. Itlater expanded its field-of-membership to include businesses andresidents of local communities. The credit unions expect the mergerto be completed by the end of 2005.