Southland Credit Union, based in Los Alamitos, Calif., and Harbor Federal Credit Union of Carson, Calif., on Monday announced a proposed merger.
The plan was unanimously approved by both credit unions' board of directors. The merger, which still is subject to regulatory and membership approval, would take effect Jan. 1, 2017.
Harbor and Southland will continue to act as independent entities until the merger has received all approvals, officials said. The combined credit union will be named Southland Credit Union and it will retain all of Harbor's staff and its branch in Carson. Thomas Lent will be the president and CEO of the merged institution, which will serve more than 65,000 members with assets of more than $700 million.
Walter Finnigan, chairman of the board of $600 million Southland CU, said in a statement the merger, "would leverage the exceptional talent of Harbor's staff and the strength of Southland's 80-year history of member service."
"We are pleased that Harbor and Southland have partnered to create one of the strongest credit unions in Southern California," Finnigan said. "Our combined credit union will allow for increased operational efficiencies, which will ultimately benefit the member with additional products and increased convenience."
John Skoglund, chairman of the board of $118 million Harbor FCU, said the merger would be a benefit for both the members and staff.
"This partnership will provide greater career opportunities to the staff of our new credit union as we expand with additional services for the members," Skoglund said.
Mike Sacher of Sacher Consulting facilitated the merger of the two credit unions.
Southland CU serves more than 55,000 members in Orange County and portions of Los Angeles County through seven branches.
Harbor FCU serves more than 9,800 members in the South Bay area of Greater Los Angeles. Harbor serves the employees of Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and more than 300 select employer groups.
