SAN JOSE, Calif. — Members of Sunnyvale Federal Credit Union voted "overwhelmingly" in favor of merging their institution into Technology Credit Union, Tech CU said Wednesday.
Tech CU said under the terms of the merger, it will acquire 100% of SFCU's $15 million in assets and SFCU's more than 1,300 members will automatically become members of $1.8 billion Tech CU. The entire staff from Sunnyvale FCU will join Tech CU and will continue to work at SFCU's lone branch.
According to a statement released by Tech CU Thursday morning, regulators provided preliminary approval of the application for the merger in November 2014. Following the SFCU member vote, Tech CU is now working on the final paperwork with NCUA and the California Department of Business Oversight with the expectation the merger will be officially completed by the end of January.
'Good For Everyone'
Barbara Kamm, president and CEO of Tech CU, said the merger fits its growth strategy.
"This merger is good for everyone," Kamm said in a statement. "It allows us to expand in the heart of our market while giving SFCU members the benefit of a broader variety of products and services."
SFCU's board said it evaluated several local credit unions for a potential merger and selected Tech CU due to its "financial strength, breadth of products and services, leading technology, branch and ATM network, skilled management team, and longtime board of directors, as well as its commitment to excellent member service."
"Our board and executive management unequivocally believes Tech CU is the best partner to serve our members' needs and meet the industry's operational requirements," said SFCU CEO Candy Arnold. "This month, our members played a key role in voting for a merger. We're thrilled they understood the value of all that Tech CU can offer and look forward to joining one of the strongest credit unions in the country."
Asked about Arnold's future following the merger, Tech CU said, "We are very excited that Candy Arnold will be joining our team at Tech CU and are currently working out the details of her role with us. We know she will play a key role in supporting Tech CU as SFCU members go through this transition, as well as ensuring we are engaging our new members and delivering the best possible service to them."
Tech CU said SFCU's directors who are interested in joining Tech CU's Supervisory Committee have been invited to submit an application.
Founded in 1960 by the employees of Fairchild Camera and Instrument Semiconductor Division, Tech CU has served the high tech workforce in Silicon Valley for more than 54 years and today has more than 70,000 individual, nonprofit, and business members.
Tech CU has a 5-star rating from Bauer Financial, the nation's largest independent rating service for credit unions and banks.
