Sacramento’s SAFE Credit Union has kicked off a two-month voting process that will decide whether the 86-year-old institution merges with BECU, a much larger credit union based near Seattle. The vote, which began this week, runs through a special meeting on October 27, and members can cast ballots online, by mail, or in person that day.
SAFE serves more than 240,000 members across Northern California and traces its roots to 1940, when it was founded as Sacramento Air Depot Federal Credit Union for civilian workers at McClellan Air Force Base, according to Credit Union Daily. The credit union converted to a California state charter in 1998 and grew into a $4.5 billion institution before this merger proposal surfaced. BECU, meanwhile, started in 1935 as Boeing Employees’ Credit Union before opening its doors to all Washington residents in 2002, and now manages more than $29 billion in assets and serves over 1.5 million members, as reported by the Federal Way Mirror.
If members approve the deal, the combined organization would manage more than $34 billion in assets and serve 1.8 million members, making it the nation’s fourth-largest credit union, according to the Sacramento Bee. Regulators have already cleared the path: the National Credit Union Administration, California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, and Washington’s Department of Financial Institutions all granted formal approval on August 4, per a statement carried by PR Newswire.
What Members Would Get
SAFE leaders argue the merger would strengthen the institution, lower fees for members, and fund technology investments aimed at fraud prevention and customer-facing banking services, the Sacramento Bee reports. The credit union has restated commitments to loan repricing programs, first-time homebuyer grants, and lower fees, and BECU would extend its own loan programs to former SAFE members. SAFE’s main office is expected to become a regional headquarters in Folsom under the deal…