Wescom CU to Acquire Great American CU

PASADENA, Calif. – Credit union giant Wescom CU said it has agreed to merge with Great American CU, one of San Diego’s largest credit unions. Great American CU was wounded by its investments in subprime auto loans through Centrix Financial. The $57 million Great American eked out $312,000 in net income for the first six months of this year, after losing $1.5 million last year. The credit union, chartered in 1928 by postal workers, has nine branches in the San Diego area. Wescom, with almost $4 billion in assets, has 51 branches in southern California, including five in the San Diego area. Wescom won the bidding for Great American among six credit unions. The merger is one of several pending among billion-dollar credit unions: with CommunityAmerica acquiring Midwest United CU; Meriwest CU acquiring Golden Bay CU; Western FCU acquiring Toyota FCU; and SAFE CU acquiring Capital Power CU.