Two Florida-based credit unions, Tropical Financial Credit Union and Financial Federal Credit Union, announced that they have signed a letter of intent to merge, with Tropical Financial CU emerging as the surviving entity.
Based in Miramar, Tropical Financial CU presently has about $655 million in assets and almost 54,000 members. The Miami-based Financial FCU has about $51 million in assets and 6,300 members – most of whom are employees of South Florida-based Macy’s and Office Depot stores, as well as the Miami Herald newspaper, along with employees of the Kansas City Star newspaper in Kansas City, Mo.
“By combining the two institutions, both memberships will benefit from higher savings rates, lower loan rates and lower service fees that are the hallmark of our cooperative structure," Richard Helber, Tropical Financial CU’s president and CEO said in a statement.
Tropical Financial CU posted net income of more than $3.3 million last year, down from $3.99 million in 2015. Financial FCU posted net income $2,079 in calendar 2016, following a loss of $46,248 the prior year, according to its call reports,
The proposed merger remains subject to approval by Financial FCU members and credit union regulators.
Helber said he expects the deal to close by mid-year.
