GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.–Two Colorado credit unions have announced plans to merge.
The $173-million Western Rockies FCU said it will ask its 14,000 members to vote on Dec. 30 on a merger into the $3.5-billion Canvas Credit Union, located 258 miles to the east in Lone Tree, Colo.
The credit unions said the merger has already been approved by both credit unions' boards, the state of Colorado and NCUA.
Western Rockies has three branches in Fruita, Grand Junction and Rifle, Colo., which the CUs said will remain open and be rebranded as Canvas Credit Union.
Canvas, with 30 branches along the Front Range of the state, serves approximately 269,500 members.
Reasons for Merger
In a statement, Canvas cited high overhead expenses, technology costs, compliance challenges with state and federal regulations and consumer demand for expanded services as reasons Western Rockies FCU is seeking to merge.
As of its Sept. 30 Call Report, Western Rockies FCU reported $516,393 in net income with capital of 7.12%.
Payouts to Staff
In the merger disclosure form required by NCUA, Western Rockies said it does not plan to distribute any capital to members as a result of the merger, but that five of its executives will receive payouts for accrued and unused sick time and vacation time. Those payouts include:
- CEO Kristi Porter, $59,980.44
- EVP Kim Lindemann, $59,245.10
- HR Director Gail Webb, $44,921.68
- Director of Operations Jenny Parrott, $18,305.90
- Director of Accounting and Finance Clarice Hawkins, $17,520.20
Canvas, which reported net income of $40.2 million and capital of 9.88% as of Sept. 30, said it plans to explore opening more branches along what is known as the Western Slope of the state.
‘Fell in Love’
“Since moving to Colorado more than six years ago, I fell in love with our great state and the incredible people who make it even more vibrant," said Todd Marksberry, Canvas' CEO and president in a press release announcing the merger. "With that deep love for Coloradans driving us, our team has been dreaming about how we can expand our impact well beyond the Front Range.”
Should WRFCU members approve the combination, plans call for the effective date of the merger to be Jan. 1, 2022.