The members of United Neighbors Federal Credit Union in Watertown, N.Y., have voted in favor of a merger into SeaComm FCU of Masena, N.Y.
The deal will add a branch to SeaComm’s brick-and-mortar network, bringing it to a total of nine locations. The National Credit Union Administration approved a request in the fall to expand SeaComm’s field of membership to include New York’s Jefferson and Lewis counties. The $720 million-asset credit union serves consumers in eight counties across upstate New York and Vermont.
United Neighbors has $4.4 million of assets and serves fewer than 1,000 members, according to NCUA data. The deal will provide United Neighbors members with a broader range of products and services, including on-site ATMs, instant-issue debit and credit cards, mortgage services, commercial lending and more.
“This merger will give our members more products than we, on our own, will ever have the ability to give them,” United Neighbors CEO Leslie Bush said in a press release. “As a small credit union we [pride] ourselves on a warm and inviting business where our members are not just an account number but a part of our Credit Union family. SeaComm Federal Credit Union has a very similar philosophy and I am looking forward to growing our membership and being part of an amazing place for people to carry out all their financial needs.”
The merger is scheduled to take effect on April 12. United Neighbors’ staff have been offered positions with SeaComm and Bush will serve as a branch manager once the merger is completed. Scott Wilson, president and CEO of SeaComm, will lead the combined organization.
Call report data from NCUA shows United Neighbors earned more than $86,000 last year, an improvement over $364,000 in losses it posted for 2019. Last year’s gains were driven in part by an 83% reduction in charge-offs and was the time since 2016 that the credit union finished the year with positive earnings.
