In Next Step Towards Merger, Maryland, D.C. Leagues Schedule Town Hall Meetings to Discuss Partnership Value Proposition

COLUMBIA, Md. – In what has been a crucial step toward their final plan to merge and build a new association, the Maryland Credit Union League and D.C. Credit Union League are in the process of completing six weeks of meetings among members of their governance, finance and services committees, and are readying to take the next step that includes holding a series of six town hall style meetings to position the value proposition of a merger of the two organizations to their respective memberships. Several weeks of conference calls among credit union officials on the three committees culminated with in-person meetings May 17-19. The Services Committee which is responsible for evaluating economies of scale, what services to deliver and how to deliver them, continued to outline the types of services that should be offered by what will be called the Maryland and District of Columbia Credit Union Association. The service categories agreed on, in general, include: education, marketing, operational consulting, public relations, regulatory compliance, and strategic planning, advocacy and business relationships. The Maryland League said the Finance Committee, charged with evaluating the existing dues structures of the two organizations and determining the process of creating a dues process for the new organization, found several similarities between the dues structures of the two Leagues and is working to design the process to eliminate any negative impact on the CUs of the new dues structure. Lastly, the Governance Committee, responsible for working out the final contract for the partnership and developing the voting process for both Maryland and D.C. credit unions, has determined that ballots will probably be mailed to affiliated credit unions in early July. `We realize that large and small credit unions look at the value proposition of merging the two organizations together differently, and we want to be sure all their concerns are addressed. We want to be sure small credit unions get the support and educational opportunities they need, and we address the education, advocacy and regulatory compliance concerns of the larger credit unions,” said Maryland League President/CEO Mike Beall. DCCUL Chairman Theresa Mann said so far from discussions she's had with D.C. credit unions, “none of them have voiced any concerns, but they're eagerly anticipating information about what the new organization will look like, how they'll be served, and where the headquarters for the new association will be located.” That's what the six scheduled town hall meetings this month – three in D.C. and the others in Maryland – are intended to address, among other concerns affiliated credit unions may voice. The first meeting on June 1 will be held in conjunction with the D.C. League's annual meeting. After that, four more meetings will be held June 2, June 7, June 8 and June 14. The last meeting June 25 will be at the Maryland League's annual meeting. Beall and members of both League boards will be on hand at each meeting to describe plans for the new organization and to answer questions. There will also be a special meeting in Maryland to make bylaw changes, and Beall said the Maryland League's lawyers are in the process of working on those. There are 72 credit unions in the District of Columbia, 64 of which are League affiliated. Of the 117 CUs in Maryland, 78 are Maryland League members. Recognizing that other League mergers that seemed like a done deal at the time wound up falling through such as Washington and Oregon, and North and South Dakota, Beall, Mann and Maryland Credit Union League Chairman Rick Stoll are confident that won't happen in their case for several reasons. Among them, they explained, several Maryland and D.C. credit unions have branches in the other's area, and they've already worked together on other issues. “Maryland and D.C. credit unions aren't strangers to each other,” said Beall. “Unlike say in North and South Dakota where credit unions are separated by hundreds or thousands of geographic miles, here you can drive one hour from Columbia (Maryland) and the vast majority of both D.C. and Maryland credit unions are within one hour of the Maryland League's offices.” In fact, this isn't the first time the Maryland and D.C. Leagues have talked about merging. Stoll said the two had preliminary talks 10-15 years ago, “but we never got past the first meeting because there were too many obstacles then.” Even so, said Mann, “It's a careful balance joining both entities together to form a new organization while maintaining the identities of both.” According to the plans mapped out, the D.C. League will be considered a chapter similar to the Maryland League's current three chapters, so they'll be D.C.-affiliated credit unions of the new Maryland and District of Columbia Credit Union Association. Mann said that the management agreement the D.C. League has had with the Virginia Credit Union League since 1998 “was never intended to be permanent. It was great in theory, but it was not meant to be a long term solution.” She explained that at the time the D.C. League entered into the management agreement, it was going through some “tough times,” and “we entered into the management agreement with the Virginia League as a way for the D.C. League to regain its health.” Of course, all three League officials realize that there's no guarantee their membership will vote for the merger. Although they're confident in how the vote will go, they agree that if anything can turn the vote the other way it will be the value proposition and their ability to answer CUs' question of “what's in it for me.” `The new association stresses the needs of all our credit unions together,” said Mann. “It will be our job to go out there and show our credit unions what we've done. ” Stoll says that he's personally talked with just about every credit union in Maryland and gotten their feedback about the merger. He said the credit unions have told him the two leagues should have merged a long time ago. Beall said the D.C. and Maryland Leagues should know by August if their memberships approve the merger. Assuming it passes, the next step will be to continue planning the logistics of the merger and laying out a timeline leading up to Jan. 1, 2005 when their plan will culminate in the new association. -

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