Two California credit unions plan to merge into a $3 billion-asset institution.
Valley Strong Credit Union in Bakersfield and Financial Center Credit Union in Stockton announced the deal Friday; it is expected to be completed this year.
If regulators approve the agreement, the combined entity will operate under the Valley Strong name, have 27 branches and serve nearly 200,000 members throughout the San Joaquin Valley from Lodi to Tehachapi.
“This merger is a true embodiment of the credit union industry’s cooperative mindset,” Michael Duffy, president and CEO of Financial Center said in a press release. “At its core, our partnership with Valley Strong represents us selecting the best credit union partner to help us achieve our goals faster than we could duplicate on our own.”
Financial Center has approximately $600 million in assets, and Valley Strong has $2.4 billion.
“As the CEO of Financial Center Credit Union for the past 21 years, my perspective on mergers has evolved just as much as our industry has in that same time period,” Duffy said. “As credit unions built by select employee groups increasingly partner with community credit unions, I have marveled at what credit unions of today’s scale can accomplish.”
Duffy said that the pandemic of 2020 made it clear that now is the perfect time for Financial Center to find a counterpart with a similar outlook and values.
Stephen Renock is scheduled to retire as the CEO of Valley Strong on June 30.
Nick Ambrosini, Valley Strong’s chief financial officer, will be the CEO for the combined organization.
“When I first sat down with Michael and we started to share our visions for our respective credit unions, everything just felt right,” Ambrosini said in the press release. “Our partnership is rooted in the commitment and passion we have for serving our members. We’re partnering for the right reasons.”
Valley Strong reported earnings of roughly $5.9 million in the first quarter compared with $14,000 a year earlier, according to call report data from the National Credit Union Administration. Valley Strong’s profits fell steeply in the first quarter of 2020 when the pandemic began to shut down the economy, a spokeswoman said.
Financial Center generated earnings of $690,000 in the first quarter, a 7% decrease from the same period last year.
