David Desjardins, president/CEO of the $100 million AcadiaFederal Credit Union, recalls seven years ago when rural AroostookCounty in far northern Maine had seven credit unions.
|That's now three with the May 1 merger of the $15 million St.Agatha FCU by Acadia FCU in nearby Fort Kent.
|“It's pretty hard for credit unions like ours locked uphere against the Canadian border to find opportunities to grow, andso we did approach St. Agatha about following through on a mergerand they agreed,” Desjardins said.
|St. Agatha had 1,800 members and a single branch and had longbeen challenged by compliance and regulatory burdens, and hadconsistently begged off agreeing to any merger, Desjardinssaid.
|But times have changed and St. Agatha had a managementsuccession issue and so after years of talks chose to combinewith Acadia, Desjardins said.
|The former St. Agatha members will now get more online andmobile banking services and member business lending offerings, headded.
|Desjardins said the 9,000-member Acadia FCU has no currentplans to pursue any mergers beyond its field of membership.
|“We can't grow into Canada,” he said.
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