Marking one of the largest mergers in years in Washington State, two Seattle area CUs, the $564 million Watermark CU and the $544 million Sound CU, are planning to merge in 2011.

Now that it has confirmed that merger talks are under way with its Maryland/DC counterpart, the New Jersey Credit Union League said Friday more regional compacts in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic can represent a future trend for industry trade groups.

More of the credit union CEOs tapped this month for Federal Reserve advisory panels meeting in the coming weeks spoke out Friday about issues they might raise, with debit interchange and tight mortgage conditions leading the list.

The Maryland/DC Credit Union Association, which since last year has been scouting for a new president/CEO, has also been looking at a possible merger with one of its Mid-Atlantic neighbor leagues.

New England credit union CEOs James Blake and John Dwyer expect to give the Federal Reserve an earful next week drawn from differing agendas - one on mortgage lending and the other on Fed access.

Acting at the NCUA's behest, the $1.5 billion Western Federal Credit Union of Hawthorne, Calif. was the successful bidder last week to merge the failed $90 million Oakland Municipal Credit Union.

The travail of the $6.7 million Mission SF FCU of San Francisco continued last week, with apparently desperate efforts under way to save the deeply ailing community development CU from being liquidated or merged by the NCUA.

CEOs being appointed this month to the newly formed advisory panels of Federal Reserve district banks are eager to become CU advocates and plan to raise the debit interchange issue.