Credit union official: Other states eying Kansas-Missouri association merger

This week’s announced merger between the Kansas Credit Union Association and the Missouri Credit Union Association was first proposed more than a year ago, according to the Kansas association’s president and CEO.

With an eye toward cutting costs and enhancing operational efficiency, Marla Marsh of the Kansas association said Wednesday that preliminary talks about a possible merger began in October 2014.

“We’ve had joint education and event programming with Missouri and Nebraska in the past, and we were looking for ways to expand that,” Marsh said.

The new organization – which will be called Heartland Credit Union Association and Shared Financial Solutions – is set to launch Jan. 1. There might also be more state trade organizations joining Heartland in the future, Marsh said.

“We’ve created the governance so that, if another state would be interested in joining, it would be very simple for them to be added into the organization,” Marsh said.

“At this point, we don’t have anyone in mind, but we’ve had some other states say that they want to see what happens with the success of our new organization. I would say there are several that are watching.”

Established in 1934, the Kansas association has had Marsh in the CEO role since 1996. Kansas is home to nearly 90 credit unions, and Heartland Credit Union Association will represent more than 200 credit unions in both states, according to the Kansas association.

Credit union trade organizations are called on largely to provide compliance and legislative advocacy support, Marsh said.

Marsh pointed out that mergers between state credit union trade organizations have become common in the past several years. She said states like Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma; Colorado, Arizona and Wyoming; Washington and Oregon; Florida and Alabama; and three New England states have all joined together.

Members of both organizations voted on the measure Tuesday, although Marsh would not release the vote totals. She did add, however, that more than 90 percent of Kansas members voted in favor of the merger, a sentiment that was echoed by executives at a pair of Wichita credit unions.

“The vote was an overwhelming ‘yes’ from Kansas credit unions,” said Jane Hammil, president and CEO of Wichita Federal Credit Union. “We are confident the merger will bring numerous benefits to Kansas and Missouri credit unions through economies of scale, depth of resources, growth in influence and advocacy and the broadening of services to member credit unions.

“The timing for this merger is right and puts us on the right trajectory for growth.”

Chuck Bullock, president of the TECU Credit Union, also said he was in favor of the move.

“I have only positive things to say about the consolidation,” Bullock said. “Both associations have successfully served their member credit unions for many years.

“As with the industry itself, there’s a number of benefits derived from bringing the two entities together. Ultimately, it makes for a stronger association. Also, the timing is right, with both CEOs nearing retirement.”

Marsh and Missouri Credit Union Association CEO Don Cohenour both have announced plans to retire in 2016 or 2017. They will stay on board until a new Heartland CEO is named. O’Rourke & Associates will conduct the search for a new CEO.

The new organization will be headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., but a branch office will continue to be located in Wichita, Marsh said, and the 10 employees currently working there will be unaffected. The new organization will also have branches in Topeka; Jefferson City, Mo.; and St. Louis.

This story was originally published October 7, 2015 at 7:34 PM with the headline "Credit union official: Other states eying Kansas-Missouri association merger."