In a landmark move for cooperative banking in Alberta, Servus and connectFirst Credit Unions proudly announce that their merger closed on May 1. This announcement follows approval from the Credit Union Deposit Guarantee Corporation and more than 84 per cent of each credit union’s membership.
“The merger marks the union of two industry leaders, each bringing unique strengths and capabilities that, together, will create one of the largest and strongest credit unions in the country,” says Andrew Eberl, Chair of the former connectFirst Board of Directors. “The resounding approvals we received from voting members of both credit unions show how truly promising the benefits of this merger are.”
Together, connectFirst and Servus now unite more than 3,000 employees and serve approximately 500,000 members across 140 branches in 80 Alberta communities. The merger enables the credit union to operate at the scale necessary to invest in new technologies and thrive for the long term while preserving the cooperative values and ways of banking that are important to members, employees and the communities the credit unions serve.
As previously announced, Ian Burns is now President and CEO of the new credit union. Immediately prior to the merger, Ian served as President and CEO of Servus.
According to Burns, “With this merger, we have achieved something truly momentous. It is not only the largest merger in Canadian credit union history, but we’ve moved through the process in a timely manner, which is important in the context of the rapidly evolving financial services landscape. I can’t say enough how excited I am to begin implementing the changes that will bring enormous benefits to our members, our employees, and the communities we serve.”
Prior to merging, Servus and connectFirst were two of the largest credit unions in Alberta. “By joining forces, we are combining our resources, expertise and passion for serving our members to create an even more impactful credit union that is deeply focused on creating a brighter financial future for members, employees, and the entire province of Alberta,” says Perry Dooley, Chair of Servus’s former Board of Directors.
Both credit unions will continue to operate largely as they have while planning a longer-term integration effort. While the combined credit union is now under unified leadership, most member-facing activities will continue to operate largely as they have before. “We look forward to quickly and efficiently integrating member-facing functions in the near future so that our members can enjoy all the benefits of the merger,” says Burns.
For more information on the merger, please visit greatertogether.info.