The trend of state league consolidation continues as credit unions in threeNew England states vote this month to determine whether to mergetheir trade associations.

The boards of the Massachusetts Credit Union League, the NewHampshire Credit Union League and Credit Union Association of RhodeIsland have been working on a merger framework to officially mergethe three organizations, Paul Gentile, president/CEO of the three trade groups, said.The merged league will be called the Cooperative Credit UnionAssociation.

“We believe there are great synergies and great opportunity bybringing these three associations together and now is the righttime to do so,” Gentile said.

During the week of Oct. 13, member credit unions with the CUARIand with the New Hampshire league voted unanimously in favor of theconsolidation, Gentile said. Electronic voting for Massachusettsleague credit unions opened Oct. 15 and in-person voting will beheld Oct. 22. If approved in the Bay State, this merger will be theeighth league consolidation since 2007.

“The strong support we received in Rhode Island and NewHampshire with unanimous votes demonstrates the confidence ourmembers have in this new model,” Gentile said. “The governance model has been thoughtfullycrafted ensuring all states have a strong voice in the future ofthe association.”

Formal consolidation discussions began in December 2013 when theexecutive committees from the three leagues formed a committee todevelop the groundwork for the merger proposal. Gentile said themerger was the next step in the evolution of the decades-long,three-league management agreement.

In 1985, Dan Egan, then president/CEO of the Massachusetts league,negotiated the industry's first management agreement with the NewHampshire league when it served 53 credit unions. The CUARI served55 credit unions in 1992 when it also signed a management agreementwith the Massachusetts league. Egan retired in January, but he wasnot involved in the merger proposal, according to Gentile.

David Surface, president/CEO of the $153 million St. Jean'sCredit Union in Lynn, Mass., and Massachusetts league chair, saidthe committee invested time and thought in developing the newassociation's governance structure. The board will consist of fivemembers from Massachusetts, two from Rhode Island and two from NewHampshire.

The board seats will be determined by using the average assetsize of the credit unions in each state, Gentile said. To ensureequality, seats will be filled by those with both above and belowaverage assets and there will be super majority provisions,meaning, no one state can dominate the other when key strategicissues are made, he explained.

Each league will maintain their local identities when meetingwith local and state officials and will continue to supportcommunity programs and other initiatives in their respectivestates.

“[We'll] be known as New Hampshire credit unions while we aredealing with our local officials, state legislators, and localbusiness partners. We'll be able to speak as a tri-state enterprisewith a lot more influence that way,” Michael L'Ecuyer,president/CEO of the $390 million Bellwether Community Credit Union in Manchester, N.H., and NewHampshire league director, said.

David Suvall, president/CEO of the $250 million Rhode Island Credit Union in Providence, R.I., and CUARIchairperson, said credit unions in his state will benefit from thelarger organization. “We are going to be 200 something creditunions, Rhode Island is now part of that power.”

Gentile said the new member dues formula will be based on assetsize and credit unions will not see an increase. If a credit unionis in the asset category between $50 million and $100 million,there is a factor applied to those assets.

“It's pretty simple and easy to figure out,” he said. “We didn'twant a confusing dues formula.”