SAN FRANCISCO – San Francisco Municipal Railway Employees Federal Credit Union on Wednesday said it is pursuing a merger with UNIFY Financial Credit Union of Torrance, Calif.
UNIFY, which currently is transitioning its name from Western Federal Credit Union, has 186,000 members and more than $2.1 billion in assets. SFMREFCU has approximately 750 members and $5.1 million in assets.
SFMREFCU said its merger plan has received regulatory approval, and the credit union is in the process of putting the merger to a vote by its members.
According to SFMREFCU, the proposed merger would mean its members will join the UNIFY family, and “have the advantages of a comprehensive product offering, nationwide branch network, 24/7 telephone contact center, and the latest banking technologies.” SFMREFCU’s San Francisco branch would remain open, and all staff would become employees of UNIFY, the credit union said.
“As a smaller credit union with limited staff and financial resources, in an increasingly competitive financial services market, we realized that a merger partnership was the most logical step to ensure we bring members the very best from their credit union,” D. McCray, Sr., SFMREFCU’s board chairman, said in a statement. “After a very thoughtful process of evaluating many potential credit union partners, we could not be more pleased to collaborate with UNIFY.”
“As a $2 billion credit union, UNIFY has the leadership, expertise and resources to provide our members with significantly more value through many new products and services, an extensive branch network, and more competitive rates,” McCray continued. “At the same time, UNIFY remains committed to local, personal service. The UNIFY team’s support and guidance through the due diligence and regulatory approval processes have been invaluable. Our work together over the past months has reaffirmed that we found just the right partner who shares our cooperative values and member commitment. We look forward to putting this opportunity to a member vote, and could not be more enthusiastic about a combined future as UNIFY.”
Gordon Howe, UNIFY’s CEO, said, “We are excited about our proposed partnership with SFMREFCU and the opportunity to bring its members many new benefits from their credit union – while keeping the personalized service the credit union has always delivered through its outstanding staff. We have a long history in Northern California and close ties with the community through UNIFY’s existing seven branches in the Bay Area. Not only will this merger bring our collective members immediate benefits, it also enhances our long-term value to our members, sponsors and local communities. We have great respect for the SFMREFCU team, and look forward to working with them through the merger process and beyond.”
San Francisco Municipal Railway Employees FCU was founded in 1952 to serve railway employees in San Francisco.
