After years of planning and discussion, 12 credit unions affiliated with the insurance giant State Farm have applied with federal regulators to merge into a single credit union.
If the National Credit Union Administration approves the application, State Farm Federal Credit Union would have nearly $3 billion of assets and rank among the top 25 largest credit unions in the country.
Tom DeWitt, the chief executive of the $654 million-asset State Farm Great Lakes Federal Credit Union in Bloomington, Ill., would be the CEO of the combined credit union, which would be based in Bloomington. The biggest benefit to members is that they would have access to the entire State Farm network, Mr. DeWitt said. Currently, State Farm employees in one region who are transferred to another have to close their accounts and open new ones at another regional State Farm credit union.
Mr. DeWitt said that the CEOs of the 12 regional credit unions would become regional managers. He added that regional boards would be dissolved and that a new, 15-person board would be created with four representatives from his credit union and one each from the 11 others.
Mr. DeWitt told The Credit Union Journal that he expects regulators to approve the application within a month and that the deal could close by the end of the second quarter.
