CLOVIS, N.M.–The $39-million High Plains Federal Credit Union here has agreed to merge into the $20-billion Pentagon FCU. The merger came at the prompting of PenFed, the credit unions said in a statement.
High Plains’ home market, Clovis, is located in New Mexico’s Curry County, which is home to more than 10,000 active duty personnel and military family members at Cannon Air Force Base. Civilian workers employed by the base, military retirees and veterans account for an additional 13,000 members of the county’s robust military-affiliated population.
“The merger with High Plains Federal Credit Union enables us to join and gain access to a very dynamic community—to which we bring decades of expertise in serving the nation’s defenders,” said PenFed CEO James Schenck. “A successful credit union merger takes time, planning and a common goal of working toward an outcome that benefits the members. The boards and management teams of our two credit unions demonstrated a commitment to ensuring the impact upon the members was at the forefront of every decision made throughout this process.”
High Plains FCU has 6,000 members. It’s two branches will become PenFed branches.
PenFed’s Senior Vice President for Mergers and Acquisitions, Ricardo Chamorro, helped lead PenFed’s efforts to merge with credit unions that have attractive markets with growth potential, according to PenFed.
“New Mexico is a prime state for cultivating merger partnership opportunities. We will continue to explore possibilities as we believe we can add tremendous value to all stakeholders in any future partnership,” said Chamorro.
High Plains Federal Credit Union CEO Marty Tressell said the ability to leverage PenFed’s scale will help it to better serve its members.