PLYMOUTH, Minn.–Members of Firefly Credit Union have voted in favor of merging into with TruStone Financial Credit Union.
According to Firefly CU, more than 11,000 ballots were cast as part of an initiative the credit union had dubbed “Better Together.”
The $1.56-billion Firefly CU has approximately 84,850 members. The $1.79-billion TruStone Financial has approximately 108,000 members, according to NCUA data. The merger has already received regulatory approval.
“Throughout the campaign, both credit unions addressed the many positive results of the merger – increased branch locations, improved products and services, and greater investments in technology,” the credit unions said in a statement. “Members will begin to see signs of those changes as early as January, but full integration is not planned until March of 2021. For now, members are being advised to conduct business just as they did prior to the vote. Any changes to accounts and services will be directly communicated well in advance of the March integration.”
The combined CU’s FOM will include the Minneapolis/St. Paul community, the St. Cloud area and Milwaukee, Wis. area.
‘Making It Even Better’
“We share our members’ excitement for this truly collaborative merger,” said Dale Turner, Firefly president/CEO, who will serve as president/CEO of the merged organization, which will operate under the TruStone name. “We’re taking the best of two outstanding institutions and making it even better for our members.”
Added retiring TruStone CEO Tim Bosiacki, “From the beginning, this has been a mission focused on our members – giving them better products, more branches, and increased value. It is tremendous to see that mission realized.”
Ex-CEO Raises Questions
When the merger was proposed earlier this year it received some additional attention when the former CEO of Firefly questioned the need for the combination. As CUToday.info reported here, Bill Raker, who retired as president of Firefly, called the reasons for the merger “weak and purely boilerplate points” that are “hardly compelling.”