When Desjardins Group announced last month it would purchaseState Farm Canada’s property and casualty insurance business, somewondered if the mammoth acquisition would trickle down to creditunions and CUSOs in the United States.

“The size and scope of the transaction is impressive, given itis a credit union based group that will manage the ongoingbusiness,” said Rock Carter, CEO of National Consulting &Insurance, an insurance program management firm based inDenver.

He added, “The acquisition of an insurance provider, and itsrelated businesses, truly demonstrate a commitment by the Canadacooperative to layer these services as deliverables to theirmembers. It demonstrates the power of cooperative aggregation ofresources that can be leveraged to find large businessopportunities, given the right environment.”