HOUSTON InvesTex CU has agreed to acquire StarTrust FCU, the troubled former Enron Corp. credit union, accelerating the consolidation of credit unions in the Houston market.
StarTrust, chartered in 1978 as Houston Natural Gas CU then converted in 1986 to Enron FCU when the ill-fated energy company acquired HNG, is a $52 million single-branch credit union that reported losses in five of the past seven years, including a loss of $140,000 for 2012.
Enron Corp. itself collapsed in 2001 in one of the most spectacular bankruptcies in U.S. history, but the credit union has survived since then as a community charter serving downtown Houston and several legacy energy companies.
Houston-based InvesTex, originally Aldine Teachers CU, has $120 million in assets and reported net income of $500,000 last year, and had net worth of almost 10% at year-end 2012.
The combination follows the recent elimination through mergers of Houston-based: El Paso Corp CU and Right Choice CU (both into First Service CU); Parkway FCU (into Space City CU); Texas One Community FCU (into PrimeWay FCU); and Bluebonnet CU and San Jacinto CU (both into Texas Dow Employees CU).
