BELLEVUE, Wash. — Even though the number of credit unions served by ShareBuilder Corp. has declined since being acquired by ING DIRECT, the online brokerage firm is reassuring the industry that alliances are here to stay.
ShareBuilder was bought by ING DIRECT in November 2007 for $220 million. Back then, roughly 125 CUs were clients of ShareBuilder, known for its automatic investment plans. Today, those numbers have dropped to roughly 50, according to Kathy Schanno, a spokeswoman for ShareBuilder from ING DIRECT. Some chose not to continue on as clients while others were not comfortable doing business with a bank, Schanno said.
"It's been a period of adjustment," Schanno acknowledged. "Our programs with credit unions have historically been co-branded programs. Historically, ING has pursued a direct distribution. There will be programs in place. We're just not sure how many there will be."
Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to CUTimes.com, part of your ALM digital membership.
Your access to unlimited CUTimes.com content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking credit union news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Shared Accounts podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the commercial real estate and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, GlobeSt.com and ThinkAdvisor.com
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
