BELLEVUE, Wash. — Online broker ShareBuilder Corp. said deciding which credit unions partnerships to keep and which to end has been a difficult process.
ShareBuilder will continue to have CU partners, reiterated Kathy Schanno, a company spokeswoman, but not as many as in the past. The change comes after ShareBuilder was bought by ING DIRECT in November 2007. Since then, ShareBuilder's CU clientele has dropped from 125 to approximately 50.
"Although we have enjoyed working with our many credit union marketing partners, we have redirected resources elsewhere and are no longer able to support these programs at the same levels as in the past," Schanno said.
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One of the broker's first CU clients, $4 billion Patelco CU recently received notice that ShareBuilder will end their co-branded service agreement effect Jan. 2010. Schanno did not say how many CU agreements will not be or have not been renewed.
"The process of deciding which programs to keep and which to end has been difficult and more art than science," she said.
Founded in 1999, much of ShareBuilder's growth came from its CU clientele through signature products such as automatic investment plans, online 401(k)s and online trades.
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