Boulder, Colo.
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Two credit unions in neighboring states announced an agreement to merge on Thursday, creating a new entity that would reach nearly $4 billion in assets and serve more than 200,000 members.
The Boards of Directors and executives at the Boulder, Colo.-based Premier Members Credit Union ($1.7 billion in assets, 76,931 members) and the Wichita, Kan.-based Meritrust Credit Union ($1.9 billion in assets, 118,094 members) said they've reached an agreement to merge the two credit unions by March 2025, pending the approval from the NCUA and Meritrust's membership.
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"As member-owned financial cooperatives, both of our credit unions share the same purpose and passion for financial well-being and commitment to improving the lives of our members, our employees and the communities we serve," James Nastars, president/CEO of Meritrust, said. "We will now be able to use our combined strength to grow and expand those commitments to make a greater impact across Kansas and Colorado. That's exciting for us."
Carlos Pacheco, president/CEO of Premier Members, said, "We are not just combining assets. We are uniting for our members, for our employees and for our communities. Together, we will build a stronger, more innovative credit union that can better meet the evolving needs of our members and the communities we serve."
According to details of the merger agreement, the official name of the new credit union will be Meritrust Credit Union and Meritrust will adopt Premier Members' existing Colorado state charter. The two credit unions will keep their existing brands since "there is no overlap in existing markets and both brands have a strong presence in their respective communities."
Nastars and Pacheco will become co-CEOs of the new credit union, according to Thursday's statement.
Once the merger is completed, the combined credit union, with its 650 employees, will serve its members with 33 branch locations across its communities in Kansas and Colorado.
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Michael Ogden
Editor-in-Chief at CU Times. To connect, email at [email protected]. As Editor-in-Chief of CU Times since 2016, Michael Ogden has led the editorial team in all aspects of content strategy and execution, including the creation of the publication’s exclusive and proprietary research database of the credit union industry’s economic landscape. Under Michael’s leadership, CU Times has successfully shifted to an all-digital editorial product with new focuses on the payments, fraud, lending and regulatory beats. Most recently, he introduced a data-focused editorial product for subscribers that breaks down credit union issues into hard data, allowing for a deeper and more factual narrative for readers. In 2024, he launched the "Shared Accounts With CU Times" podcast, which offers a fresh, inside-the-newsroom perspective through interviews with leaders from the credit union industry and the regulatory world. He dives into pressing credit union issues, while revealing the personalities working behind-the-scenes to push the credit union world forward. His background includes years as a radio and TV anchor/reporter and a public relations and digital/social media manager, where he covered the food and music industries, as well as cooperatives and credit unions. Over the years, he has launched numerous exclusive video and podcast series, including a successful series of interactive backstage interviews with musicians at music festivals, showcasing his social media and live streaming production skills.
