TACOMA, Wash. — With all of the bad economic news, Sound Credit Union CEO Rick Brandsma anticipated an even faster flurry of forced mergers and hastily arranged marriages in 2009.
But the pace of consolidation is not significantly higher than the general trend of the last few years. Sound Credit Union completed its 12th merger earlier this year, but the $430-million institution was expecting to see more CUs on the market.
"Credit unions hang on for a long time before they make the decision that the best thing for their members is to seek out a merger partner," said Brandsma. "I think many that are having problems really aren't sure what they can do to solve them."
That view is shared by George Hofheimer, chief research officer at the Filene Research Institute in Madison, Wis. "People were talking about the rate of consolidation increasing in 2009, but it just hasn't happened. I think the volatile environment caused most thinking of a merger to wait until the smoke clears."
