COLUMBIA, Md. - After seven years of operating as an independentleague with its own board but always leaving the door open toexploring all the options it determined were in the best interestsof its members, the District of Columbia Credit Union League hasdecided not to go it alone any longer. It has found a mergerpartner with the Maryland Credit Union League. The partnership isthe result of several months of discussion between the two leagueswhich included DCCUL chairman Theresa Mann, president/CEO, FDIC FCUinviting the Maryland League as well as the Virginia Credit UnionLeague to submit merger proposals. The D.C. League has had amanagement agreement with the VCUL since 1998 which included theD.C. League paying the Virginia League a monthly management fee andthe VCUL making available to all D.C. credit unions the sameservices available to Virginia CUs. Mann received proposals fromboth leagues, but said one of the deciding factors in the MarylandLeague's favor was "the regional focus of the new associationprovides the opportunity for our credit unions to work more closelyover a boundary that our members regularly commute, live, work,worship and go to school across. The new association mirrors lifein our region." As for the D.C. League's management agreement withthe Virginia League Mann said, "We've been very pleased with ourmanagement agreement with the Virginia Credit Union League and themany positive things that have come out of that relationships. Butto ensure that our members receive the best services, we'veperiodically reviewed that agreement over the years. After a lot ofdue diligence and analysis, we chose to partner with the MarylandLeague." Commenting on the D.C. League's decision to go with theMaryland League, Virginia Credit Union League President/CEO RickPillow said, "While we are very proud of our work for D.C. creditunions, we also respect their right to choose what they believewill be the best situation for their long-term success." MikeBeall, president/CEO, Maryland Credit Union League explained that,"if you look at the region the south end includes the District ofColumbia and on the north end there's Baltimore, and there areabout 160 credit unions falling in a 100 mile space that I refer toas `the oval.' For most associations, that's a great grouping. TheBaltimore/Washington, D.C. region has grown so fast. We've alwayshad a large government base in the region, but now there are also alot of technology companies coming in." The new association will becalled the Maryland and District of Columbia Credit UnionAssociation. It will be based in Columbia with an office in theDistrict of Columbia - the D.C. League will move from its currentoffice in Alexandria, Va. Beall will serve as the CEO of the newassociation. "Credit unions in Maryland and the District ofColumbia will benefit from having a financially strong associationproviding top notch legislative and regulatory advocacy andcompliance services, superb education opportunities in the region,enhanced business service offerings, and innovative cooperativeactivities," he said. There are 120 CUs in Maryland and 76 in D.C.,of which 81 are affiliated with the Maryland League and 62 with theD.C. League, respectively. There are more than 2.5 million CUmembers living in the Maryland and District of Columbia region. Allof D.C.'s credit unions are federal charters, and the D.C. Leaguehas been working with the City Council for awhile for passage of acredit union act that would allow for state-chartered CUs. Theinitiative hasn't seen action in awhile, but Mann said "it could bereproposed at any time." MCUA Chairman Rick Stoll, president/CEO,Anne Arundel Employees FCU said the Maryland League is very excitedto be working with the D.C. League's Board and affiliated creditunions. We're confident the merger of the two organizations willmake both Maryland and D.C. credit unions better, he said. Over thenext six weeks, three joint committees focused on financial, legal,and services will meet to develop a strategic plan and proposal toput before the respective League affiliates at their annualmeetings in June. Mail ballots will be sent out to affiliatedcredit unions in July, and Beall said the leagues are working withtheir legal counsel to set up the vote including studying the lawsof Maryland and the District of Columbia concerning the requiredvote for approval. Beall estimates it's a two-thirds yea vote forpassage of the merger proposal. If the merger is approved, the newassociation would officially be formed Jan. 1, 2006. At press time,members of both boards were personally contacting their affiliatedcredit unions to announce the merger intentions, and Beall saidduring the process the memberships will be kept apprised ofdevelopments. While both Leagues still have to work through severalissues including determining how the new association's chairmanwill be chosen, they do know what the new board will look like -the Maryland League and D.C. League boards each has 10 members. Thenew association board would include all the Maryland League Boardmembers plus three more from the D.C. League who would serve forthree years. At that time, the 13-member board would include onedirector each from the D.C., Baltimore, Western Maryland andsuburban Maryland, plus nine at-large members Reflecting on otherpotential credit union league mergers that fell apart because ofcredit unions' concerns about maintaining their identity in theirstate legislatures, Beall said, "It's very important for the creditunions to maintain their identity, and we all know we'll have to goout and talk with credit unions and convince them to trust thatboth boards understand their concerns. "We can't predict thefuture, but we're all very confident our memberships will supportthe move. The boards intend to work hard to make sure themembership understands the details, but so far everything we'veheard is very positive," he said. -

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