CHELSEA, Mass. – Metro, one of the biggest credit unions in the Bay State, will get access to more than 100,000 students at a dozen area colleges with the planned merger of University CU.
Officials with $58 million University CU, headquartered at Boston University, cited the growing regulatory burden as the main reason for the merger, which gives $800 million Metro CU, based in the working class Boston neighborhood of Chelsea, immediate access to students at Boston University, Tufts, Bentley, Berkeley College of Music, Fisher, Lesley, Suffolk, Newberry and several other schools.
“This [merger] decision is in response to the recent market forces and regulatory changes that have impacted the financial services industry,” University CU President William Sinabaldi told members in a letter last week. “After considering several alternatives, we determined that a merger with Metro Credit Union is in the best interest of our members as it will provide a broader range of products services and convenience.”
The deal, along with a planned branch opening in Boston’s Back Bay in May, will give Metro three additional branches in Boston in a brief period.
Mergers have helped Metro expand throughout the greater Boston in recent years, with a deal for United Auto Workers CU giving it branches in Framingham and the Metro West area, and a merger with Commonwealth CU, which allowed Metro to establish a branch on Broadway in Chelsea.
University CU was chartered in 1952 to serve employees of Boston University and Boston University Medical Center. It expanded to add employees at several colleges before adding students in 2008, and now is the third-largest credit union based in Boston, behind only the City of Boston and State of Massachusetts employee credit unions.
