PALO ALTO, Calif. – Just days after their proposed merger received approval from NCUA, Addison Avenue FCU, based here, and First Tech CU, Beaverton, Ore., said the Oregon regulator has signed off on the deal.
The two CUs announced their intent to combine in March. Now that regulatory approval has been received, First Tech members must approve the merger. First Tech said its members will receive a voter’s guide with information about the merger during the last week of October. One week later, they will receive an official ballot packet. From that point, they will have 30 days to vote.
First Tech members are voting because First Tech would change from a state to a federal charter in the proposed merger. Vote results will be announced in early December.
“This is an important milestone in the merger approval process and we look forward to finalizing the merger,” Benson Porter, Addison Avenue’s president and CEO, said in a press release. Brooke Van Vleet, First Tech’s interim president and CEO, added, “We look forward to offering more value for our combined membership, greater efficiencies and the strength to grow and prosper in the 21st century.”
Both credit unions are healthy. Addison Avenue had a $7.9 million net for the first six months of the year, even after a $2.7 million charge for the corporate credit union bailout, and net worth of 9.4%. First Tech had a $4.7 million first half net after a $2.4 million corporate bailout charge.
The merger, if approved, would result in a combined credit union with assets of $4.6 billion, 38 branches and 327,000 members nationwide. If all approvals are given, the new CU would use Addison Avenue’s current federal charter but operate as First Tech Federal Credit Union. It would have corporate offices here and in nearby Rocklin, Calif., and in Beaverton, Ore.
