Members of Coast-Tel Federal Credit Union in Salinas, Calif., have approved a proposed merge into Bay Federal Credit Union in Capitola, Calif.
Both volunteer boards of the credit unions
The member vote happened during a board meeting earlier this week.
“We are very happy that our members have spoken in approval of the merger with Bay Federal Credit Union,” Judy Meyers, Coast-Tel’s president and CEO, said in a press release. “This vote of confidence in the merger means that we have the opportunity to provide enhanced services to our membership, including wealth management and investment services, access to a wider variety of personal, home, and auto loans, and much more.”
The merger should be completed on Feb. 1 with the $20 million-asset Coast-Tel becoming a division of Bay. Once the operational combination of accounts is completed in mid-2019, Bay will be responsible for the branch and ATM locations in Salinas.
To help with the transition, the $996 million-asset Bay will be waiving membership fees for anyone who wants to make the switch early.
“We are looking forward to welcoming Coast-Tel Federal Credit Union members into our family and expanding our branch network to better serve all of our members throughout the Salinas-Monterey area,” Carrie L. Birkhofer, Bay Federal Credit Union president and CEO, said in a statement. “We believe that this partnership will be mutually beneficial and provide even greater options for our collective membership."
Coast-Tel Federal serves 3,200 members and has one branch. It earned $71,486 in net-income through September and was well-capitalized, according to its latest call report. Bay has 73,000 members and six branches.
