LANDER, Wyo. – Meridian Trust FCU here has announced plans to merge with Nebraska-based Western Heritage FCU, with Meridian Trust to be the surviving name.
Meridian Trust has $575 million in assets, nearly 32,000 members and branches in Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska, according to a statement from the CU. Western Heritage has $65 million in assets, more than 8,000 members and branches in Alliance and Scottsbluff, Nebraska.
According to a statement, the proposed merger will mean expanded services to Western Heritage FCU members and additional branch and ATM access to Meridian Trust FCU members. Since both credit unions currently have a branch in Scottsbluff, Neb., that are less than a half-mile apart from each other, the plan is to combine operations inside of the Western Heritage location, the CUs said.
“Members and employees of both organizations will benefit from the economies of scale that a larger organization brings,” the credit unions said.
No layoffs will result from the merger which is expected to be completed by early 2022.
“We look at this as an opportunity that will benefit the great members of both credit unions,” said Kim Withers, Meridian Trust CEO. “Each organization has a strong passion for serving their existing and potential membership, providing local as well as world-class digital services.”
Offerings ‘Members Will Love’
Added Western Heritage CEO Cindy Baker, “We’re extremely excited to partner with Meridian Trust because of what this means for our membership. This will ensure that we can continue to meet our members’ growing financial needs, while providing them with top-level service. Meridian Trust has a wide array of offerings that our members will love. They come in with an amazing free checking product and they’ve also just recently launched a state-of-the-art online banking product and a new mobile app. They also have great low loan rates. Our members will truly benefit from this.”
Meridian Trust reported net income of $1.943 million and net worth of 9.72% at mid-year, while Western Heritage reported net income of $127,00 and net worth of 8.8%.