COLUMBIA, Md. – The credit union industry has known its share of credit union and league mergers that almost reached the contract signing stage only to be called off at the last minute, to the surprise of many, because of a variety of reasons. That though was not the case this year with the merger of the Maryland and D.C. credit union leagues and the formation of a new organization – the Maryland and District of Columbia Credit Union Association. The merger – the first of its kind in the country – officially takes effect next month, but the new organization was already using its new logo as well as its new Web site in September. The combined organization represents 139 credit unions . There are a total of 188 CUs in Maryland and D.C. with an estimated 2.5 million members and more than $20 billion in assets. Of the 61 D.C. credit unions that were eligible to vote, 48 voted in favor of the merger. In Maryland, at a special member meeting held in July, 68 of the 78 affiliated credit unions approved the merger. For the past eight years, the D.C. Credit Union League operated as an independent league with its own board and a management agreement with the Virginia Credit Union League. Earlier this year, then-DCCUL Chairman Theresa Mann, president/CEO, FDIC FCU explained that the management agreement with the Virginia League was re-evaluated each year and that a merger was always one of the options the league explores as part of its due diligence. Since the merger was approved, the new Maryland and District of Columbia Credit Union Association has been busy doing whatever is necessary to make sure everything is ready to go come the new year. Mike Beall, president/CEO of the Maryland League has the same position with the new MDDCCUA which has its main headquarters in Columbia. The new association is also shopping around for a second location in D.C. The new board includes 13 seats – 10 people on the former Maryland League board, and three new seats elected by District of Columbia credit unions from among their peers. In November, the new MDDCCUA formed its first strategic partnership with a vendor – in this case with FedComp for the company to provide its core processing software and other services to the association's membership -

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