ST. LOUIS — Anheuser-Busch Employees' Credit Union is reassuring its 99,000 members that the financial institution will remain independent following news that Anheuser-Busch Cos. and InBev have agreed to merge creating a $52 billion global brewery.

The combined company, to be called Anheuser-Busch InBev, will become the fifth largest consumer products company in the world and will maintain its North American headquarters in St. Louis, according to both companies in a July 14 statement. Worldwide, Anheuser-Busch has more than 30,000 employees, while Leuven, Belgium-based InBev has 89,000 employees. All breweries are scheduled to remain open, the companies said.

"Anheuser-Busch Employees' Credit Union is not a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch Companies, however we have been fortunate to express our common bond by the use of the Anheuser-Busch name," said J. David Osborn, CEO of the $991 million CU. "Our relationship–spanning nearly 70 years–has been in serving Anheuser-Busch Companies employees and retirees, as well as their family members and we plan to continue doing so in the future"