TAMPA, Fla. — Suncoast Schools FCU and GTE FCU said last Wednesday they have ended their planned marriage, one of several giant mergers prompted by the recession in Florida and its impact on credit unions and banks.
The credit unions said the decision to terminate merger talks is mutual and based on the determination that "the potential disruption in operations to both organizations was extensive enough to outweigh the potential benefits of the merger."
The merger would have combined two credit union giants that have reported large losses over the past year to create an institution with almost $9 billion.
The collapse of the merger comes about two months after another proposed merger of two big Florida credit unions, MidFlorida CU and Sarasota Coastal CU, fell apart, and just a month after Space Coast CU agreed to acquire the failed Eastern Florida Financial CU to create a $3.2-billion credit union.
