Eight-five per cent of ConnectFirst Credit Union members who voted at a special general meeting in Calgary on Nov. 9 have approved a proposed merger with Servus Credit Union, say officials.
The vote came following a Sept. 19 vote by Servus members approving the merger. In that vote, 84 per cent of members who voted approved the merger.
At the Nov. 9 ConnectFirst special general meeting, a total of 944 people cast votes. The credit union has more than 130,000 members.
There are ConnectFirst Credit Union branches in Olds, Didsbury, Carstairs, Cremona and Sundre, with a total of more than 40 branches in central and southern Alberta. Edmonton-based Servus Credit Union has 102 branches, including in Innisfail.
Servus and ConnectFirst will continue to operate independently pending the completion of the regulatory process, Beth Kerr, manager, brand and communication with ConnectFirst, told the Albertan.
“Following member approval, the next step in the merger process is approval from our provincial regulator, the Credit Union Deposit Guarantee Corporation (CUDGC), and the Competition Bureau of Canada,” she said.
It is not known how long the regulatory approval process may take, she said.
Servus and ConnectFirst entered into an amalgamation agreement on Aug. 1, 2023 “pursuant to which ConnectFirst and Servus propose to merge and combine their respective operations into one entity” in accordance with the Credit Union Act.
If approved by regulators the new entity would have more than $30 billion in assets and would serve approximately 500,000 residents in 80 Alberta communities.
“By bringing together the best of both ConnectFirst and Servus we’re excited for all we can achieve for our members, employees and communities,” Don Coulter, chief executive officer with ConnectFirst, said in a press release.
The legal name of the combined credit unions would be “Connect First and Servus Credit Union Ltd.” However, it is intended that operations in which both credit unions operate will continue under their current brand names for a period of time, officials said.
The merged credit union would continue to serve all communities currently served by ConnectFirst and Servus, officials said.
Regarding employment at the merged credit union, officials said, “We understand this issue is of great importance to employees and the members they serve. All employees will be offered a role in the new credit union and layoffs will not occur as a result of this merger.”
The two credit unions currently employ more than 3,000 people.
If approved, the merger would see common shares held by members in either credit union exchanged for the same number of common shares in the merged credit union. As well, investment shares of any series held by members in either credit union would be converted into an equal number of investment shares of the merged credit union.
