Soo Line Credit Union in Savage, Minn., has agreed to merge into Central Minnesota Credit Union in Melrose.
The two institutions said in a press release Wednesday that the combined organization will have more than $1.1 billion in assets, 21 branches and serve 68,000 members. The merged entity will operate under the Central Minnesota name and under a Minnesota state charter.
The $41 million-asset Soo Line’s three branches will stay open after the merger is completed under the Central Minnesota name.
“CMCU’s financial strength as well as our shared vision of a members-first approach to financial services made CMCU an obvious choice when we began searching for a partner,” Mark Johnson, chairman of Soo Line, said in a statement.
Charles Friederichs, CEO of Central Minnesota, said that “the merger calls for us to continue employing CMCU’s vision of enhancing the lives of members and community through strength, service and growth.”
Soo Line posted a net loss of about $116,000 in 2018, after recording net income of about $105,000 in the prior year. From 2017 to 2018, Soo Line’s membership dropped about 24 percent, to 5,556.
The $1.1 billion-asset Central Minnesota posted net income of about $13.56 million, a 27.7 percent increase from the prior year.
