Merrimack Valley Credit Union finally wraps Bridgewater merger

Nearly a year in the works, Merrimack Valley Credit Union and Bridgewater Credit Union have completed their merger.

The newly combined entity has more than $1 billion in assets and will retain the Merrimack Valley name, with Bridgewater operating as a division of MVCU.

In addition, Merrimack Valley’s former president and CEO Peter Matthews will serve as an advisor until March 31, 2019, when he will retire. At that time, John J. Howard, the former president and CEO of Bridgewater CU, will take over as Merrimack Valley’s chief executive.

“The new, combined organization is better positioned to meet our members’ needs, including more convenience, more choices, better rates and lower fees,” Howard said in a statement.

Members of both credit unions approved proposals to merge in October 2018.

As reported, an earlier attempt by the two credit unions to merge was derailed in March 2018 by a federal court which invalidated a provision of the National Credit Union Administration’s field of membership rule that automatically qualified a combined statistical area with fewer than 2.5 million people as a “local community” and the increase to 1 million people as the population limit for rural districts for federally-chartered credit unions.

Subsequently, in September 2018, Merrimack Valley converted from a federal charter to a state charter, which would allow the credit union to keep Barnstable County, Mass. in its field of membership. Matthews previously indicated the charter change “also allows other smaller credit unions to merge into Merrimack Valley Credit Union.”

Based in Lawrence, Mass., Merrimack Valley posted net income of about $4.22 million in 2018, a 5.7 percent drop from the prior year.

Based in Bridgewater, Mass., Bridgewater CU posted net income of about $372,000 in 2018, an 11 percent increase over the prior year.