Three years after his retirement as EVP of Sumter, S.C.-based SAFE Federal Credit Union, Darrell Merkel has returned, this time as president and CEO of the $1 billion-asset institution.
Merkel, who first retired in 2014, had previously worked for almost 30 years at SAFE FCU, filling various posts there over the years, starting as a loan manager, then serving as vice president of lending before moving to the position of senior vice president of operations and then executive vice president.
“Darrell Merkel was a strong leader during his original tenure with SAFE, and we are happy to have him back as president and CEO,” Kay Oldhouser Davis, chair of SAFE's board of directors, said in a statement. “We look forward to the leadership he will provide as we continue to grow and as we continue to provide outstanding service to our more than 100,000 members throughout South Carolina and around the world.”
According to its Call Reports, SAFE FCU posted net income of about $6.2 million in 2016, slightly below the $6.5 million it generated the prior year.
