WASHINGTON—CUNA reported that its Small Credit Union Committee is advancing an initiative intended to provide a “win-win” alternative to mergers.
“A key factor preventing credit unions from pursuing those opportunities is a perception that one credit union ‘wins’ while another ‘loses’ in a merger,” CUNA said in a statement. “The initiative improves upon an existing informal process and builds it into a truly collaborative approach.”
CUNA said its Small Credit Union Committee has presented to NCUA a “Network Credit Union” concept white paper and has asked the agency to take the lead in developing regulations that would formalize and “improve a now-existing informal process that is highly confusing and all too often defective,” Debie Keesee, chair of CUNA’s Small Credit Union Committee and CEO of Spokane (Wash.) Media FCU, said in a statement released by CUNA.
Keesee said the group has asked NCUA to appoint an advisory group to explore the Network Credit Union concept. According to the committee, the Network model facilitates viability and competitiveness of participating credit unions “while each retains a seat at the table. The option provides a framework for credit unions to look at other credit unions as potential partners for adding value to their member benefits while the credit union is still healthy, and when it makes sense. Rather than resulting in a ‘winner’ or ‘loser,’ the model is built on two or more credit unions joining together to create a stronger organization under a new Network designation.”